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B?5A

TABLE,

ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL,
TO THE THIRD VOLUME OF

THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

BOOK III. — continued.

.MODERN HISTORY, POLITICAL, CIVIL, AND RELIGIOUS,
OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

1437—1792.

CHAP. II.
CHARLES v. OR THE REFORMATION.

1519—1553.

ELECTION OF CHARLES V. APPEARANCE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

HIS HOSTILITY, FIRST TO THE INDULGENCES, NEXT TO

THE DISCIPLINE AND DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. DAN-
GEROUS TENDENCY OF SOME TENETS PROPOUNDED BY HIM.

OPPOSITION FROM THE ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIANS.

PROGRESS OF HIS DOCTRINES. DIET OF WORMS. — VIOLENCE

OF THE REFORMER. DEFECTION OF HIS COADJUTORS.

SWINGLE. THE ANABAPTISTS. WAR OF THE PEASANTS.

SIEGE OF MUNSTER. CONTINUED PROGRESS OF THE RE-
FORMATION. DIET OF AUGSBURG. EFFORTS OF CHARLES

TO EFFECT A UNION BETWEEN THE HOSTILE PARTIES.

FRUITLESS COLLOQUIES. LEAGUES. CIVIL WARS. RE-
VERSES OF THE EMPEROR. PEACE OF RELIGION. DEATH

AND CHARACTER OF LUTHER. INFLUENCE OF THE RE-
FORMATION. SECULAR EVENTS DURING THE REIGN O,F

CHARLES.

\. D. Page

f519. Election of Charles King of Spain to the Imperial Throne

of Germany - - - - - 1

A 3

194;

VI ' ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.

». o. Page

His Reign memorable for the] great * religious Change

called the' Reformation - - - - *

1483—1512. Shameless Traffic in regard to Indulgences - 4

Birth and Education of the celebrated Martin Luther - 5

1512—1518. He furiously assails the very Foundation of Indulgences - 7

His remarkable Theses

Contests with several Adversaries . . - 9
He is cited to appear before the Papal Nuncio at Augs-
burg - - . - 12
1518, 1519. Conference with the Nuncio - .13
Luther's hasty Retreat from the City ; his Disputes with

other Opponents ; his increasing Violence - - 14
Fruitless Mission of another Legate - 14
Remarkable Circumstances - - 14
Flies secretly from Augsburg - - - 14
Luther, in danger of being delivered over to the Ven-
geance of the Church, is protected by Frederic - 14
Seasonable Death at this critical Juncture of Maximilian,

from which a twofold Good results - - - 15
Luther attacks with increased Bitterness the Papal Pre-
rogatives as set forth in a second Treatise of Prierias - 15
Emphatic Conclusion - - - 15
Effect of this bold Declaration - - -15
Conciliatory Measures are tried - 16
Miltitz endeavours to win the Confidence of the Reformer 16
1510. Luther sends an extraordinary Letter to the Pope - 16
Beausobre's Remarks on this Epistle - - - 17
Chargeable with Deception in this Letter, as on many

other Occasions - - - - 17

1519. ^Polemical Dispute at Leipsic - 18
Fundamental Doctrine of Luther regarding the Justifi-
cation of Man - - - .19
Peculiar Meaning assigned by Luther to Justification by

Faith - - - 20

Dangerous Effect of such Opinions - - S3-

His peculiar Objection to Merit of good Works - - 22

Opinions regarding Repentance - . - 22

His Distinction between human and divine Faith - 24

This Doctrine repugnant to Reason - - 25

Conference at Leipsic held with great Solemnity - - 26

Opens with Conferences between Carlstadt and Eckius - £6
It is interrupted by Luther, who himself enters into the

Dispute - - . - 27

He gains the Advantage - - - 29
Remarks of a modern English Divine on the whole Con.

troversy, and the peculiar Opinions of Luther - - 30
1519—1520. Luther endeavours to avert the Storm which threatened

him from Rome - . . - SO

Charged with Duplicity . . - . 30

ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. Vll

A. r>. I'age

1320. Publishes his Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the

Galatians - 30

Its Object twofold - - 31

Written in a violent and indecent Tone - 31
Tendency of his Writings ; particularly of three Treatises

composed at this Time - - - 31
Violence of the Reformer's Writings - 32
His Duplicity - - 34
His solemn Excommunication by Pope Leo X. - - 37
1520,1521. His dauntless Behaviour on this Occasion - - 3S
His insulting Replies to Leo - - - 38
Dangerous Tendency of some of his Propositions - 40
Motives of his Paradoxes, and his Violence i- - 40
1521. Manner in which the Bull of Excommunication was re-
ceived by the different Classes of German Society - 41
Policy of the Saxon Elector - - - 42
Diet of Worms . - , - 45
Conduct of the Papal Nuncio at the Diet - - 47
Luther cited to appear - - - 48
His Appearance and Conduct before the Emperor, Princes,

and States - - - - 4fc
He disclaims all human Authority in Matters of Faith,

i protesting that he will be bound by the Scriptures only 4S

He is commanded to leave Worms - - - 48
He retreats to an Asylum provided for him by the Elector

of Saxony ; and, by an Imperial Edict, is placed under

the Ban ... - 4.1'

1521 — 1524. Manner in which the Ban was received - 49
From the Place of his Retreat Luther continues to write

with equal Violence - - 50
He assails Doctrines no less than Discipline, sometimes

with much Justice - - 51
His Propositions condemned by the Doctors of the Sor.

bonne . - - - 51
His Revenge • • .52

Progress of his Opinions . - 53

Unseasonable Violence of his Partisan Carlstadt . 53

Infatuation of others - - - - 54
Fanaticism of Luther, who suddenly appears at Wit-

temberg - 55
He disputes with Carlstadt, who endeavours to found a

new Sect - - - « - 55

1522—1524. Writings of Luther - - r 58

His Translation of the Scriptures into German - - 59
Its mischievous Effects, in so far as it induced the most

illiterate to rave about the Sense of Inspiration . 60
Other Writings, the Object of which was to bring both

the spiritual and temporal Power into Disrepute - 61

A 4

Vlll ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.

A. i). Page

His Appeals to the worst Passions of the Princes and

People . -. . - - 62

1333—1526. Zwingle, the Swiss Reformer, improves on the Doctrines

of Luther . . . . - 63

Denies the real Presence in the Eucharist - 64

Assails the Romish Discipline and the Papal Authority,

and prevails on the Senate of Zurich to abolish both
His Disputes with Luther . • - 65

1521—1525. Origin of the Anabaptists - - - 67

Their fundamental Tenets founded on a Misunderstand-
ing of Scripture, and merely an Improvement on those
of the Lutherans . . . .68

Dangerous Career of these wild Fanatics - 69

By preaching against all Ranks and Distinctions in Society,
by dwelling on the natural Equality of Mankind, on the
absolute Freedom of the elect in Christ, they urge an
, oppressed Peasantry into open Revolt - 72

The Insurrection is formidable, and, to oppose it, Luther-
ans and Catholics obliged to arm - -73
Civil Wars - .f • - . - - 75
Destruction of the Fanatics with their Leader, Muntzer - 77
1525 — 1533. The surviving Anabaptists betake themselves to other

Countries, — to Switzerland, and especially to Holland - 78
Their Excesses in the latter Country almost incredible - 79
Rapidly increasing Character of human Error - - 80

They are punished . - 81

Twelve Missionaries despatched by the Arch-Impostor

Matthias to convert the rest of the World - - 81

1533 — 1534. John Beccold, a Tailor of Leyden, sent on the Mission to

Munster in Westphalia - - 81

Joined by Matthias in person - 84

Fanatical Proceedings of these Apostles - 84

The City is forsaken by the Authorities, and by the more

respectable of the Inhabitants - 83

The Fanatics take it into their own Possession, create new
Magistrates ; and expel all who refuse to embrace the
new Faith . . - - 85

Conduct of the Prophet Matthias - - 85

He is cut off in a Sortie against the Troops of the Bishop

of Munster, who were besieging the City - - 85

He is succeeded by Beccold, who ultimately assumes the

regal Title - - - - - 86

1534. Tyranny and Profligacy of this Tailor-King - - 86

His whimsical Administration - .- - 87

Anecdotes illustrating the State of Fanaticism in Munster 89

1534, 1535. Continued Freaks of Beccold - - - 93

His Cunning characteristically displayed - - 94

He despatches Apostles into other Countries - - 95

Adventures of these wild Visionaries - - 97

ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. IX

A. u. Page

Incredible Excesses in Holland - - - 99

Knavery no less than Fanaticism of the Preachers - 1(X)

1535. Beccold forsaken by many of his Missionaries - - 101

His critical Position - - 102

Progress of Famine, and consequently of Disaffection,

in Munster - - - 103

The City betrayed by one of the Anabaptists - - 10o

Massacre of the People - - J0.>

Execution of the Arch-Impostor - 101

1525. Martin Luther [continues to labour at the Reformation ;

Character of the Converts - - - 104

Dispute between Luther and Henry VIII. of England

and Duke George of Saxony - 10(1

« Scandalous Marriage of the Reformer with the Nun,

Catherine Boren - - - 107

1523 — 1529. Efforts of the Popes and Emperors to resist the Progress
of the Reformation, or at least to effect outward Har-
mony between the hostile Churches - 108
Diet of Nuremberg ; all Parties displeased by the tempo-
rising Measures of that Assembly - - - 111
League of the Catholic States in Defence of their Religion;

of the Protestants at Turgau - - 112

Disputes between the Lutherans and the Zwinglians - 114
Efforts of the Catholics to separate the two Bodies of Dis-
sidents - - - ll;"i
Diet of Spain, in which the Reformers first assume the

Name of PROTESTANTS - - - 116

1529 — 1530. The Lutherans and Zwinglians endeavour to unite more

closely - .... 117

Conferences for the Purpose - 118

Intolerance of both Parties, and Jealousy of the Rival

Chiefs - - - - - 118

They separate in disgust ... - 120

1530. Diet of Augsburg, in which the Lutherans for the first

Time agree on a written Confession of Faith - -120

Advances of the more moderate among them to a Union

with the Catholics - »- 122

Disputes of the Theologians ... ]22

Hopelessness of such a Union ... ]22

Anger of the Emperor, who by the Celebrated Decree of
Augsburg endeavours to effect, by Force an Object which
he had vainly attempted by Conciliation - - 12t>

1530—1533. League of Smalcald, formed by the Protestant Princes
and States as a Defence against the Emperor and the
Catholic Party - - - 124

Their open Resistance to Charles, who is forced to tem-
porise, and even to make Peace on Terms sufficiently
humiliating to himself and his Catholic Subjects - 125

Character of the Articles constituting the Peace of Nu.
remberg . 126

X ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLK.

A. D. Page

1533~ 15*3. Progress of religious Dissension, however smothered'out-

wardly

Civil Grievances superadded

Fruitless Efforts of Charles to restore Harmony - 130

Interminable Disputes about religious Dogmas, and about

the Jurisdiction of the Imperial Chamber

1543—1546. Continued Discontents - 134

Progress of Events favourable to the Reformers - 135

They enter into secret Negotiations with the French

King, who becomes the Soul of their League - 136

Both Parties prepare for an Appeal to the Sword - 137

1546—1552. Civil Wars between the Emperor with the Catholic States

on the one Hand, and the Protestant States supported

by the French King on the other

Character of their Wars -138

They are often interrupted by the Wish of the Emperor

to effect a Reconciliation - 139

Hypocrisy of Maurice Elector of Saxony" - -140

1552—1555. The Civil War renewed with greater Violence - 142

Success of the Dissidents - 143

Anxiety of the Catholic Party for Peace - -144

Treaty of Passau - - 145

Chief Articles of the Pacification - 145

1546. Death and Character of Martin Luther - - 146

His Violence, Fanaticism, Egotism, Malignity - 147

Evils of the Reformation - - 152

Evils occasioned by the Reformation continued - 152

Alarming Tendency of some Tenets - 152

Monstrous Perversions of religious Texts - - 153

Intolerance of the First Reformers - 153

Fanaticism, and in some Cases Rebellion, the undoubted

Offspring of this moral Revolution - - 154

But the Reformation had its Good, which must be admitted

to have more than counterbalanced the Evil - . 154

Statement of the Benefits it has produced :

1. Religion as a Feeling improved

2. The Conduct of Men improved - 155

3. Civil Liberty improved ... 156

4. Individual Exertion stimulated - 157

5. Increase of Knowledge - - 157

6. Salutary Change in the political Constitution of

Germany ,. . - 158

Civil Transactions of the Empire during the Reign of

Charles J. . - ; - 158

1555—1558. Charles as a Governor and Legislator -159

1521—1555. Warlike Events jn Hungary and Bohemia . - 162, 163

ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.

CHAP. III.

FERDINAND I. RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS. CALVIN. HIS DOC-
TRINES. MAXIMILIAN II. RODOLF II. MATTHIAS.

FERDINAND II. RELIGIOUS ANIMOSITIES. CIVIL WARS.

FERDINAND III. CONTINUATION OF THE WAR. PEACE OF

WESTPHALIA. LEOPOLD I. CRIMINAL CONNEXION OF THE

PROTESTANT STATES WITH FRANCE. FOREIGN WARS OF THE

EMPIRE. JOSEPH I. CHARLES VI FOREIGN WARS CON-
TINUED. CHARLES VII. FRANCIS I. TROUBLES. • JO-
SEPH II. CONTINUED WARS. WILD REFORMS. LEO-
POLD II.

A. D. Page

1558 — 1564. FERDINAND I. ; his wise Government - - 165

Disputes of Religion continued ... 165
1509—1564. Education, Character, and Life of another great Reformer,

John Calvin - 170

Character of his Institutes, a Work containing the Sum and

Substance of his System - - - 172

His absurd and unscriptural Notions - - 172

In what do the Tenets of Calvin differ from those of

Luther ? - - . - - 177

1561. An Assembly convoked at Naumberg to effect a Union be-
tween the Lutherans and the Calvinists ineffectual - 181
1558—1564. Other Events of Ferdinand's Reign - .183

1564 — 1576. MAXIMILIAN II. ; his excellent Reign - - -185

1576—1612. RODOLF II. unfit to succeed his great Predecessors - 189

Disasters of his Reign .... 189

Religious Dissensions burst out with renewed Fury - 190
Frequent Insurrections . -1192

After a troubled, because imbecile and unprincipled Reign,
the Emperor is forced to cede Hungary, Austria, and
Bohemia to his Brother Matthias - - 195

1612— 161S. Reign of MATTHIAS - - - - 19S

1619—1637. FERDINAND II. . . - - 198

Troubles of this remarkable Reign - . -198

Alternate Success and Humiliation of each Party in the

Thirty Years' War - - - - 198

Ultimate Success of Ferdinand - - 19S

Pacification of Prague - - - - 198

Ferdinand II., supported by the Catholic Electors, ob-
tains the Imperial Crown ... 199
In Bohemia, the States put the Seal to their Disloyalty by

electing the Count Palatine Frederic V. - 199

Expectation of Interference of James I. of England, of
Prince of Orange, is frustrated - . .199

Xll ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.

A. n. Page

Frederic gives Disgust to his Subjects by his Calvinistic
Fanaticism; In: is expelled from his Kingdom; Cha-
racter - . .200
Religious Animosities enter into every public and private

Transaction - - 200

Civil Wars ... .200

Alternate Success and Failure of the Emperor, who

headed the Catholic Party - 200

Expulsion of the Usurper King of Bohemia, the worthless

Frederic - . . - 200

Defeat of the Danish King, next called to be the Head of

the Protestant League - - 201

Series of Successes gained by Ferdinand; he chastises

Bohemia - - 201

By one Decree he proscribes 700 of the noblest Families - 201

Hungary forced to yield ... 201

Politic Measures of Ferdinand ... 201

The Protestant States of Lower Saxony become united 201

in a close Bond of Union, with Christian IV. at the

Head - 198—201

1625. To oppose them Ferdinand sends Tilly and Waldstein - 201

They wage two successful Campaigns - 201

Christian expelled - - - - 201

1629. Treaty of Lubec - - - 201

Remarkable Union of the Catholic Party in sustaining the

Head of the Empire . -201

Enumeration of other Causes which contributed to the

Successes of Ferdinand ... 202

Ferdinand abolishes the Exercise of the Protestant Religion

in Bohemia - - 202

Fatal and permanent Effects of these vindictive Mea-
sures - - . ,• . . .202
He endeavours to carry similar Measures into effect in

Germany ----- 202
He proceeds with Caution ; preparatory Measures - 202

Punishment of Bohemia ... 203

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden enters on the Scene, to
support tire Protestants, and to humble the House of
Austria ... - 203

Unexpected Union of the Catholics and Protestants in ex-
claiming against the Edict of Restitution - 203
Various Causes which led to this Union - 203
Invasion of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden . -203
Summary of the famous Transactions at this Period 204, 205
Schiller's celebrated History of this Period - - 204
Treaty at Prague - •, . - 205
Remarks on the Character of Ferdinand f. « -206
1637—1648. FERDINAND III. succeeds to the Imperial Throne . 206
War is renewed with Fury . : - - - 207

ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. X11I

A. D. Page

The inevitable and fatal Consequences of a Continuance

of the War to Germany begin to be seen by the whole

People ; - - - 207

Negotiations are opened ... 207

Munster chosen for Place of Negotiation with France ;

Osnaburg with Sweden - . 207

Various Obstacles which retarded these Treaties 207, 208
1648. They are at length, after Six Years from the Opening of

the Preliminaries, concluded and signed - - 208

The Peace, known as the Peace of Westphalia ; why thus

denominated - . 208

The very important Results from the Peace of West.

phalia ... - 209

Its Articles considered under three great Heads, or

Compacts - - 209

I. The Limits and Revenues of the Empire alike narrowed

by this fatal War of Thirty Years - 209

Independence of the Netherlands, and Switzerland 209, 210
Encroachments on the actual Limits of the Empire made

by France and Sweden - 210

Monstrous Demands of France and Sweden ; Cause which
actuated Ferdinand to sanction, and the Diet to pro-
mote, this Dismemberment of the Empire - -211
Secularisation of numerous Sees ... 212
Eight Elector's are recognised ... 212
Such States as had borne Arms against the Emperor in
the Thirty Years' War, through the good Offices of
Sweden and France, are included in the general Am-
nesty - - - 213
Obnoxious Nature of the chief Provisions of this Treaty 213
The Secularisation of Church Property only to be paral-
leled by the Spoliation of the English Monasteries by
Henry VIII. of England - -213

II. Articles which regarded Religion ; their general Cha-
racter - - - - - 213

The Foundation of the Compact was the ample Confirm-
ation of the Treaty of Passau (1552), and of the religious
Peace established three Years afterwards - - 214

Calvinists now placed on same Footing as the Lutherans 214

Dispute concerning Ecclesiastical Reservation finally
settled - - - 214

Religious Toleration - 215

No Decree of the Diet to pass by a Majority of Suffrages,
but by amicable Accommodation, a Point for which
the Protestants had long laboured - - 215

Regulations respecting the Aulic Council and Imperial
Chamber - - - - 216

Rights of the Pope, respecting Catholic Sees and Benefices,
guaranteed^ - 216

And the Emperor's Privileges of Presentation'with regard

X1Y ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.

' *. D. Page

to Catholic and Protestant Benefices, with one Re.
striction - - . . - 216

The Regulations regarding the Civil Constitution and in-
ternal Police of the Empire ; very important - 216

Their most remarkable Feature ... 216

Account of them, in the Words of an eminent native
Jurist - -216

Question relating to the Sovereignty of States of the Ger-
manic Empire over their respective Territories 216—217

Reserved Rights - 217

Imperial Mortgages; Declaration that although Mort-
gages among the States themselves should be considered
as redeemable, the Imperial ones should remain in the
Hands of their Possessors - 217

Imperial Cities I . -218

Prerogatives of the Diet; Differences on this Point ; this
Article was at last inserted in both the Treaties of
Peace, as proposed by the two Crowns - - 219

Only Question concerning the internal Constitution was
whether the Imperial Cities should have a Vote in the
general Diet : they are granted a Vote equivalent to
those of the other States . 219

The Effect of this Grant of the utmost Importance - 220

Regulations respecting the Imperial Chamber; favour,
able to the Catholics, as it gave them a Majority in
Number of Presentations ... 221

Regulations entered into respecting the Aulic Council,
and Objections to these Arrangements - - 222, 223

Proceedings with respect to the Visitation of the Aulic
Council - - 22*, 225

Regulations by which Parties engaged in Lawsuits are
bound to deposit a certain Sum according, to State of
the Case fixed by the Aulic Council, tic. 226

The general Character of the Treaty of Westphalia well
given by a modern Historian - - 226 — 228

Many very important Measures were proposed at this
Treaty, only to be deferred to a future Diet - - 228

Few of these Measures were subsequently considered - 228

A permanent Capitulation, to serve as a perpetual Engage-
ment on the Part of the Sovereign, at his Election, to-
wards the States, drawn up, but not sanctioned for more
than Half a Century after the Peace . -228

Regulations respecting the Election of a King of the
Romans - - ... - - 229

Other momentous Affairs left undetermined ; relative
Proportions of Taxation, Regulation of Diets of Depu-
tation, &c. - - . . .229
1648 — 1657. Most of the Regulations which concerned the Roman
Catholic Church, the Ecclesiastical Judicature, and above

ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLK. XV

». D. Page

all the Secularisation of the Bishoprics, condemned by
1651. the Pope ; and finally annulled . .230

Thunders of the Church had ceased to terrify . -230

1657. Death of Ferdinand; his Character - - -230

Interregnum ; Preponderance of Influence gained by

France alarming - - 230

Demands the Crown for Louis XIV. ; succeeds in gaining

four of the Electors - - 230

Patriotic Conduct of the Remainder - - . 231

3C57 — 1705. LEOPOLD, Son of the late Emperor, raised to the vacant

Dignity - - - 231

His weak Character .... 231
Aggressions of Louis XIV., and Infamy of the French

Councils - - .231

Summary of the Proceedings of the French, &c. during the

Reign of Leopold - - . 232

Success of Leopold's Arms - . 232

Sobieski ; the memorable Campaign of 1683 - . 232

Causes which seem to have led to the Success of Leopold's

Arms - - 233

Internally the Reign of Leopold affbrds some interesting

Particulars; Enumeration thereof . 233

The First Elector of Hanover - . 233

Circumstances which reconciled the Catholics to the

Admission of the new Elector - 234

The Elector of Saxony ascends the Throne of Poland . 235
In the Palatinate, the reformed Religion was irretriev-
ably ruined ; Conduct of Louis ... 235
1701. The Elector of Brandenburg places the Crown on his

own Head as King of Prussia - . . 236

Changes in the political State of Germany . - 236 — 7

The Establishment of a permanent Diet, attended, not by
the Electors in Person, but by their Representatives,
forms one of the most striking Peculiarities of Leopold's
Reign - . 237

Account of the Way in which this Change was brought

about .... 238, 239

Irreparable Injury sustained by the Reformed Religion

from its voluntary Connection with France - - 239
Unheard-of Cruelties practised by the French Army - 240
Dreadful and revolting Scenes at Heidelberg - 240, 241

De Heydersberg, the commanding Officer at the second

Capture of Heidelberg ; his deserved Punishment - 241, 242
Disastrous Condition of the Reformed Religion in the

Palatinate ..... 242

1705—1711. JOSEPH L succeeds to the Imperial Crown ; brilliant ^Suc-
cesses of Eugene and Marlborough . 24-3
His foreign Wars - _ 243
Internal Transactions of this Reign . - 243
Suppression of the Bavarian Electorate - . 243

XVI ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.

A. o. Page

Quells a Rebellion in Hungary ' . - 244

Character of Joseph I. 244

1711—1740. Opposition to the Election of Charles VI. ; Causes which

led to this Opposition . . . 244, 245

1713. Peace of Utrecht, between all the European Powers ex-

cept France and the Empire - - 245

Conditions offered to the Emperor . - 245

1714. Peace concluded with France at Baden ; under less fa-

vourable Conditions to the Empire - - 245, 246

Dissatisfaction of the Protestants ; furious Rivalry be-
tween the Catholic and Protestant Parties, with frequent
Dissensions in the Diet - - - 2-tfi, 247

175j>. Treaty between the Empire and France respecting the
Limits between the Austrian Netherlands and the
United Province* - •:•> » - - 247

1718. Philip acknowledged as lawful Monarch of Spain - 247

Succession of Treaties, Negotiations, &c. many Years 247, 248
, Character of the general Policy of Europe in these

Transactions - - 248

1739. Peace concluded with the Turks ; Conditions thereof 248/249
Character of Reign of Charles VI - 249

Intertel Administration, deserving of Commendation - 249
His chief Concern is directed to the Choice of a Suc-
cessor » ' /: •. ' - 249
Difficulties attendant upon this Step • • . • -249
1713. The famous Pragmatic Sanction is published - - 250
1740—1745. Accession of CHARLES VII. - - 251
The Administration of Maria Theresa - 251
Threatened Dismemberment of her vast Dominions - 251
Frederic of Prussia - - 251
His Invasion of Silesia ; ungenerous Conduct - 251, 252
France supports the Pretensions of the Bavarian Elector ;

Agreement entered into between France and Prussia - 252
Successes of the Austrian Arms • 252

The Devotion of Hungary to the Cause of Maria Theresa 253
Implacable Vengeance of Maria Theresa towards her

Enemies • - - - - 253

Character of Charles VII. . .253

1745 — 1765. Accession of Francis I. ; though not without meeting con-
siderable Opposition ... 253
Continued Troubles of his Reign - 253
1748. Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle - - 253
Conditions thereof - - 254
A Peace of seven Years succeeds - - 254
A complete Change takes place in the Policy of the

House of Austria - - 254

Frederic of Prussia ; glorious Stand against the French,

Austrian, and Russian Arms - 255, 25C

Conferences for Peace opened at Hubertsburg in Saxony,
and the Conditions of Peace were signed (1763) - ' 256

ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. XV11

A. D. Page

By the Treaty of Paris, France and England are recon-
ciled ; Peace restored throughout Europe, except be-
tween Russia and the Porte - - 256

1765— 178& Accession of JOSEPH IL; like his Father, possesses only
the Shadow of .Power, during the Lifetime of Maria
Theresa - - 257

The Partition of Poland . 257

Question respecting the Bavarian Succession ; Claims of

Charles Theodore, the Elector Palatine - 257

The exorbitant Demands of Austria - 258

Frederic of Prussia first remonstrates against them ; he
enters Bohemia and lays the Country waste to the
Walls of Prague - 259

1779. Peace of Teschenj Conditions thereof . .259
Policy of Francis - 259

1780. Death of Maria Theresa . -259
The immense Possessions of Joseph II. ; his ambitious

Views ... . 260

He abolishes the Barrier Treaty . 260

Endeavours to obtain the Opening of the Navigation of

the Scheldt - - - - 260

He endeavours to exchange the Netherlands for Ba-
varia - .261
A League is formed by the Germanic Princes . 261
1786. Death of Frederic the Great .262
Joseph is unsuccessful in a Compaign against Turkey - 262
1789. Brilliant Successes of the Austrian Arms in a second

Campaign against the Turks . . 262

1780—1790. Various Reforms of Joseph II.; all separate Jurisdictions
are abolished, and the Austrian Monarchy divided into
thirteen Governments . . 263

Advantages and Disadvantages resulting from these

Changes . 264

Edict of Taxation ... 264

Abolition of all Feudal Distinctions, all Manorial Rights,

&c. - 264, 265

Reforms in the Church attempted by Joseph . . 265
They are generally dangerous, and some even wicked

Innovations - . 266

The Profaneness of a Politico- Moral Catechism, drawn up

by him, defeats its own Purpose . 266

The Edict of Toleration ; a very salutary Measure - 267

Various Efforts of Joseph II. for the Commerce, Manu-
factures, and Literature of hig People . . 267, 268
The Censorship of the Press is taken from the Clergy, and
invested in a Commission of Literary Men resident at
Vienna - . 268
1786—1790. The Reforms of Joseph are viewed with Detestation in the

Netherlands ;, • . . -268

VOL. HI. a

Xviii ANALYTICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.

A. D. Page

The various and incongruous Forms of Government and

of Administration in the Netherlands . - 264— 270

Reform thereof attempted by Joseph II. . 271

1790. The various States of the Netherlands, in imitation of

Brabant, declare themselves sovereign and independent 271
By these Events, the Progress of the Austrian Arms in

Turkey U interrupted - - 271

1790—1792. Accession of LEOPOLD II. - - 272

Relation of the Empire with respect to foreign Powers - 272
Salutary Measures adopted by Leopold II., by which he

obtained the Imperial Crown • 272

Summary of the Transactions of Reign of Leopold II. . 272
No open Hostilities take place during his Life - - 273
He is succeeded by the Emperor Francis II., to whose
Reign it would be superfluous to advert, the Notoriety
of- all the Details relating to the French Revolution
rendering all Comments on the Proceedings of that
Period unnecessary - 273

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HISTORY

THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

BOOK III. — continued.

MODERN HISTORY, POLITICAL, CIVIL, AND RELIGIOUS, OF
THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

1437—1792.

CHAPTER II.

CHARLES V. OB THE REFORMATION.

1519—1558.

ELECTION OF CHARLES V. APPEARANCE OF MARTIN LUTHER.

HIS HOSTILITY, FIRST TO THE INDULGENCES, NEXT TO

THE DISCIPLINE AND DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. DAN-
GEROUS TENDENCY OF SOME TENETS PROPOUNDED BY HIM.

OPPOSITION FROM THE ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIANS.

PROGRESS OF HIS DOCTRINES. DIET OF WORMS. VIOLENCE

OF THE REFORMER. DEFECTION OF HIS COADJUTORS.

CARLSTADT. ZWINGLE. THE ANABAPTISTS. WAR OF THE

PEASANTS. SIEGE OF MUNSTER. CONTINUED PROGRESS

OF THE REFORMATION. DIET OF AUGSBURG. EFFORTS OF

CHARLES TO EFFECT A UNION BETWEEN THE HOSTILE

PARTIES. FRUITLESS COLLOQUIES. LEAGUES. CIVIL

WARS. REVERSES OF THE EMPEROR. PEACE OF RELIGION.

DEATH AND CHARACTER OF LUTHER. INFLUENCE OF

THE REFORMATION. SECULAR EVENTS DURING THE REIGN

OF CHARLES.

As Maximilian left no son, the partisans of the house 1519.
of Austria cast their eyes on the eldest of his grandsons.

VOL. III. B

2 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

Charles king of Spain.* But the youthful monarch
had many opponents. As king of Naples, which he
inherited through Fernando of Aragon, he was too
dangerous a neighbour to the papal see for Leo X. to
wish him success : as king of Spain, lord of the Ne-
therlands, and archduke, of Austria, his power was
justly dreaded by the states of the empire and by
Europe. The same objection, however, applied, though
in an inferior degree, to another candidate, Francis I.
He, too, had pretensions over the Milanese and Naples,
which could not be peculiarly agreeable either to the
pope or the inhabitants f ; while with the Germans,
the direct collision of interests between France and
themselves, naturally rendered him unpopular. That-
Leo, while professing to favour Francis, should secretly
advise the electors to cast their suffrages on a prince of
their own body, has surprised no one ; for open in-
tegrity of purpose was not the virtue which at this
period much distinguished the holy see. Hence,
though Francis and Charles, by their ambassadors, con-
tinually diverted the golden stream into the coffers of the
electors, whose venality was even more shameless than
at any preceding vacation, they selected Frederic, duke
of Saxony, and imperial vicar during the interregna, as
their chief. Frederic, indeed, had virtues worthy of
the station ; but he was too wise to accept it. He
knew that Maximilian, with resources ten times great-
er than his own, had been unable to resist France
or Turkey ; that the hostility of both towards the
German nation was immitigable ; and that the only
man in whom the country could hope to find a saviour,
was the king of Spain. Hence, he proposed Charles^
whose claims were as agreeable as those of Francis
were unpopular ; and the reasons which he assign-
ed for the preference, were too urgent not to have
their effect. In fact, five of the electors had formerly

; * See Hist, of Spain and Portugal, vol. v. chap. i.

t Vol. iii. (History of Aragon). See also, Europe during the Middle
Ages, vol. i. passim.

CHARLES V. 3

declared for him, and had desisted from appointing him
in the apprehension that he might endeavour to make
himself as despotic in Germany as he was in Spain
That prince was accordingly chosen, and the decision was
ratified by the voice of all Europe, except France and
her creatures. But it was not made without precau-
tions.

" At the election of Charles V., a new and important cir-
cumstance appeared in the constitution of Germany. At the
proposal of Frederic, surnamed the Wise, of Saxony, the
electors agreed to make certain articles, which were drawn up
for that purpose, conditions for Charles to swear to. They
were in hopes that they should be enabled, by this measure, to
destroy the apprehensions which might otherwise arise in con-
sequence of his great power, and, what was easily foreseen, his
frequent absence in a foreign kingdom. They had at the
same time recourse to every thing which was hitherto merely
dependent on custom, and converted them into written laws,
in hopes of giving them more firmness for the future. This
was the origin of the fundamental law of the empire, which
has been repeated ever since at every election of an emperor
or a king of the Romans, under the name of the imperial
capitulation ; and the design of which is to settle the whole
form of government, by a sort of contract with the emperor at
his election. The elector of Mentz had already procured cer-
tain promises from several emperors for himself* ; but now the
whole college concluded a formal treaty for the first time with
the newly elected emperor, concerning his future manner of
conducting the government. As nothing was inserted but
what was grounded on some former custom, or else of general
utility to Germany, the electors acted, in fact, as useful agents
(negotiorum gestores) for the whole empire. In this con-
sideration they merited and met with the approbation of the
whole country ; although a question might certainly have
arisen, whether the electors alone, without the concurrence of
the other states, had the right of making such a funda-
mental law, — a question which since that time has actually
arisen."

The conditions which the ambassador of Charles,
who was then in Spain, was compelled to sanction,
were thirty in number. They chiefly regarded the ex-

, . * And so had other electors, but only as individuals, not as a bod]-.
B 2

4 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

ecution of existing laws ; the inability to enact new ones
without the consent of the diet ; to make no alliance, to
undertake no war, without the sanction of the electors ;
not to introduce foreign troops unless the empire should
be invaded ; to hold no diet or tribunal beyond its bounds ;
to confer all offices on Germans alone ; to uphold the
rights and privileges of every state against the en-
croachments of the holy see ; to impose no taxes, how-
ever customary, without consent; to place no state under
the imperial ban, without claiming the established
forms of process ; to conquer for the empire alone, and
to remain as much as possible in Germany.*

The reign of Charles must be memorable in the
annals of all time, for the vast revolution effected in the
religious constitution of society. This, indeed, is the
all-engrossing, the one subject of interest. The ob-
servations which in various parts of the present work,
and especially at the close of the preceding volume, we
have made on the religious state of Germany and of
Europe ; the abuses, above all, which attended the
preaching of the indulgences ; will have prepared the
reader's mind for what follows.f

1483 The papal see had long been necessitous : it was never
to more so than during the pontificate of Leo X. This
pope, who is allowed even by the warmest advocates for
catholicity, to have possessed few of the virtues be-
coming the sacerdotal character, however splendidly he
might have adorned a purely secular throne, lost no
time in replenishing his empty coffers Ly the public sale
of indulgences. In the view of disarming the opposition
which he well knew would meet their publication in
Saxony, he addressed the papal commission to Albert,
elector of Mentz, and cardinal archbishop of Magdeburg,
who was allowed to participate largely in the profits

* Miniana, Continuatio Historian Marinans, p. 12, 13. Sandoval, His.
toria del Invicto Imperador Carlos Quinto, torn. i. p. 30, &c. Ferreras (by
Hennilly), Histoire Generate d'Espagne, torn. viii. p. 474. Putter, His-
torical Developement, torn. i. book v. chap. 1. Pfeffel, Histoire d'Alle-
raagne, tom.ii. Schmidt, Histoire des Allemands, torn. vi. liv. viii. chap. 2.

f VoLII. concluding pages.

MARTIN LUTHER. 5

arising from this shameful traffic. Albert devolved the
responsible part of the duty on Tetzel, a Dominican
friar, who is said to have been of licentious morals, but
who certainly had talents, eloquence, and address to
make the most profitable use of his commission. Ac-
companied by many friars of his order, he proceeded
from place to place, and reaped an ample harvest from
popular credulity. Every good and patriotic man,
every one who had sense enough to distinguish between
the practice and principles of the church, joined in exe-
crating the abuses of the questors. It is certain that,
through an honourable shame, many of them forsook this
iniquitous traffic; but their place was supplied by others
as efficacious as themselves, and less scrupulous. The
whole Dominican order, which had so many sons en-
gaged in the traffic, was laden with ridicule, with
contempt, and with execration. The friars of St.
Augustine, above all, were disgusted with the profan-
ation ; and it was probably at the command, certainly
with the approbation, of his superior, the Augustine vicar
Staupitz, that MARTIN LUTHER began to attack the
sale of indulgences, and thus to hasten the reformation
which had for ages been demanded. Martin was born
in 1493, at Eisleben, in the lordship of Mansfeldt, on
the night of the saint whose name he bore. His father
was not, as some Roman catholics have devoutly
supposed, a demon or an incubus, but an honest
mechanic, originally very poor, but soon placed in
more easy circumstances by industry. At an early
age, Martin, who was evidently destined to a nobler
calling than a worker in metals, was placed in the school
of Eisenac ; and he studied with such success, both
there and at Magdeburg, that he was sent to the uni-
versity of Erfurt in Thuringia, where he took his degree
in arts. At twenty this was no ordinary honour ; and
his reputation was increased by the quickness of his
wit and the vigour of his sallies. He does not appear
to have entered deeply into scholastic philosophy or the
study of the fathers ; and he was addicted to disputation,
B 3

O HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

rather than to silent musing. But his was an extra,
ordinary mind ; and that he was born to excel others,
was soon felt by his schoolfellows. That he was re-
ligiously disposed from his early years, is evident from
his own epistles; and an accident not uncommon
in itself, — the sudden death of a fellow student, — drew
him from the world to the cloister. He forsook his
studies in law, and presented himself at the monastery
of the Augustinian hermits of Erfurt. He was joyfully
received, as every man who had made much pro-
ficiency in learning was sure to be ; and hopes seem
to have been entertained that he would prove one of the
brightest ornaments of the order. This hope was
strengthened when his application to study was wit-
nessed ; and he had soon the reputation of being one of
the most promising ecclesiastics in Germany. But
whether he had what a Roman catholic would call a
vocation for the monastic state, seems to have been
doubted even by himself. The first months of his
profession were passed gloomily enough. He was, as
he himself acknowledged, disturbed by horrid fancies, —
a proof that his habits ill adapted him to retirement.
His superior, Staupitz, endeavoured to console him by
the opinion that God was trying him for some gracious
purpose. It was, doubtless, at the same instigation, that
he so vigorously applied to the study of Scripture, and
of the scholastic divines, especially Aquinas, Occharn,
and Duns Scotus, and in this occupation he often
neglected to eat or sleep. Much as we may ad-
mire his diligence, it is impossible not to perceive that
his studies were not well directed. Had he wished
to understand the revelation of the divine will to man,
he should have followed, as his interpreters, not the
schoolmen of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries,
but the fathers of the three first. With them, however,
he was not conversant ; and at every page of his con-
troversial writings we perceive that he was no theologian.
In 1507, he embraced holy orders ; and the following

MARTIN LUTHER. 7

year was sent by his superior to teach philosophy atWit-
temberg. Here he acquired so much celebrity, that, in
1512, Staupitz insisted he should take the grade of
doctor in theology, and the elector of Saxony undertook
to pay the expenses of his magnificent reception.*

Of a bold, even a fiery temperament; zealous for 15 12
what he conceived to be the truth ; devotional in his l°
thoughts, irreproachable in his morals ; Luther resolved
not to conceal the abuses which reigned around him.
Among these, the most prominent as the most odious
was that of indulgences, which, in 1517^ Tetzel began
to preach in the diocese of Magdeburg. Without dis-
puting the power of the pope to grant such extra-
ordinary things, he directed his first attacks at what
all men acknowledged as an abuse ; and was stimu-
lated in his zeal by his superior Staupitz. It has been
supposed that the hostility of the vicar-general of the
Augustines to the preaching of indulgences arose from
his jealousy of the Dominicans, who were at this time
exclusively intrusted with the commission. For this
opinion, however, there appears to be no foundation :
Staupitz was evidently an enlightened and a virtuous
man, and this hostility does honour to his memory. The
same praise must be conceded to our young doctor; who
assuredly had no other interest in the question than such as
was common to every Christian.t His indignation was
raised by the proofs he daily witnessed how incompatible
were these indulgences with morality. When sitting in the

* Guiccardini, Istoria d' Italia, lib. 18. Sleidan, De Statu Religionis Com-
mentarius, lib. i. Seckendorf, Historia Reformationis, p. 1 — 21. Wulfius,
Lectiones Memorabiles, torn. ii. p. 32. 73, &c. Lutheri Epistola, lib. i.
passim. Maimbourg, Histoire du Lutheranisme, torn. i. p. 13. Beausobre,
Histoire de la Reformation, torn. i. liv. i. Raynaldus, Annalea Ecclesiastic!
(sub annis). Pallavicini, Historia Concilii Tridentini, torn. i. lib. i. Dupin,
Historia Ecclesiastica, cent. xvi. lib. i. Harpius, Dissertationes de Non-
nullis Indulgentiarum Quaestionibus, p. 384, &c.

f The common relation that Staupitz and Luther were actuated chiefly
by revenge, because the sale of indulgences had been taken from the Au-
gustinians [and conferred on the Dominicans, is an idle fable. The Do-
minicans had generally been intrusted with the commission, from the
thirteenth to the sixteenth century ; the Augustinians never, though a few
individuals of the order were occasionally joined in the commission with
•Franciscans, or Carmelites, or even Dominicans.

8 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

tribunal of penance, he sometimes heard the confessions of
the purchasers, who, in virtue of the transaction, refused
to receive the satisfaction he enjoined. In return, he re-
fused to absolve them ; and they complained to Tetzel,
who threatened with the stake every profane sceptic as to
the efficacy of the indulgences. Luther was not to be
moved by the threats of an intemperate and interested
zealot : roused in his turn, he drew up ninety-five pro-
positions, which he launched at the abuse, its authors,
disseminators, and favourers. In this celebrated thesis,
he maintains that the pope has power to remit canonical
penalties ; but that, in regard to the penalties required by'
divine justice, he can only declare the remission ; that
the penitential canons could not be extended to the dead ;
that the money arising from the sale of indulgences
could only gratify the avarice of the questors ; that they
who depended on the efficacy of the instruments they ob-
tained, would be damned, and their leaders with them ;
that true contrition of heart and amendment of life
would infallibly obtain pardon without papal letters ;
that indulgences could not be of the same value as works
of mercy, since their only end was a mitigation of pain,
while charity exalted men ; that if the former were at
all necessary to the repose of souls, it was the pope's
duty to distribute them gratuitously, nay, even to sell the
church of St. Peter and distribute the money to the
poor, who might thus be enabled to purchase the ad-
vantage ; that the whole system was a device to rob
mankind; that if a new cathedral were necessary, the pope,
who was as rich as Croesus, should build it at his own
expense; that the true treasures of the church were
not in the power of the pope, but were contained in
the Gospel and in the operation of the Holy Ghost.
Assuredly there was nothing in these conclusions at
variance even with the Roman catholic doctrines; not
one of them but might be defended by the authority of
some orthodox divine. It is, however, certain that, in
some respects, they deviated from the opinions generally
entertained during the last three centuries, when corrup-

MARTIN LUTHER. 9

tion was added to corruption, and religion hidden under
a ;heap of worldly vices. Yet that there were many
spirits in Germany,, whose faith had a better foundation,
is evident from the applause with which the thesis was
received. The most catholic declared that it was
consentaneous with the doctrines of the church ; that
the pope could only remit the canonical penance incurred
in this life; that his power did not extend to the other state.
Luther enclosed his propositions in a letter to the arch-
bishop of Magdeburg, whose interposition he besought;
observing, that if the instructions issued by that prelate's
authority were not revoked — if an end were not put to
an abuse so insulting to the reason of men — the false-
hood of the system would soon be exposed by some or-
thodox writer. Without waiting for the archbishop's
reply — which, indeed, would have been useless — he
affixed his propositions to the gates of the church at
Witternberg. Most of them, however, he did not pub-
lish as incontrovertible truths ; he represented them
merely as doubts which agitated his mind, which he was
anxious to discuss with the learned, and which he was
ready to admit or reject according as they should be
found agreeable or repugnant to the catholic faith. In
his sermons from the pulpit of the same church, which
was crowded with distinguished hearers, he assumed a
bolder tone, and represented as certainties what he had
previously proposed as doubts. In this there was no
inconsistency, still less insincerity. Opinions, whe-
ther true or false, are progressive ; one proposition tends
to another : as we ascend, the prospect increases ; and
what may appear obscure from one point of view, may
be clear at another. Never did theses spread with so
much rapidity. Scholastic as was the subject, it in-
terested every person ; and, for the first time, men
began to enquire on what foundation the doctrine of
indulgences stood. Even among the most bigoted, the
opinion was universal, — that indulgence was merely a
remission of the temporal penances awarded to certain
offences by the canons; an opinion which Luther, in

10 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

speaking and in writing, defended with much force of
reasoning. Nor was the celebrity which he now ac-
quired, caused less by the manner than the subject of
his disputes. The ardour of his character led him into
a boldness, often a violence, of language, which, though
unworthy of a reformer, was calculated to make a deep
impression on a people, to many of whom the very
name of pope was odious. Many, while they held that
the papal authority should be preserved, were anxious tp
confine it within reasonable limits. These, no less than
the others, hailed the success of the Wittenberg doctor
as the dawn of that reformation for which Christendom
had sighed since the twelfth or even the eleventh cen-
tury. But if the majority were pleased, the Dominicans
were at once incensed and alarmed. Tetzel, their pro-
vincial, after condemning to the flames the theses of
Luther, endeavoured to answer them by a series of
counter conclusions, which did more harm to his cause
than the worst efforts of its enemies. As an inquisitor,
Tetzel was odious to the nation ; as one who most pro-
fited by indulgences, his opinions were naturally received
with suspicion ; his violence of manner, his eagerness to
contradict, led him into many absurdities, which drew
on him the severe animadversions of his own party.
His work was accompanied by 150 propositions on the
authority of the pope, which the Wittemberg professor
had so vigorously assailed. This treatise was more
mischievous than the other. It elevated that authority
above general councils, and dignified with the obligation
of faith every decree emanating from the papal chair :
it declared that St. Peter himself had not more power
than Leo XM the husband of the church universal ;
whose authority was incommunicable as that of Christ,
and whose decrees were as binding in heaven and on
earth. Such blasphemy, we might suppose, would have
made the very stones cry out ; and many catholics there
were, who applauded the students of Wittemberg, when
they committed the conclusions of Tetzel to the flames
as publicly and as ceremoniously as the Dominicans

MARTIN LUTHER. 11

had committed those of Luther. In short, it may be
truly said that three fourths of the Germanic clergy,
including the same proportion of dignitaries, either
openly or secretly approved his efforts, in the hope that
the sale of indulgences, which they regarded as the
curse of religion, as the opprobrium of their church,
would for ever be destroyed. To sustain Tetzel, two
other controversialists entered the field, — Prierias,
master of the sacred palace, and Eckius, professor of
theology at Ingolstadt. Luther, who had scorned to
answer the Dominican, contended with them ; and the
honour of the contest, notwithstanding his coarse in-
vectives, was doubtless his ; since it chiefly regarded
points which no ingenuity could sustain, — those relating
to the unbounded authority of the pope and the efficacy
of indulgences. It is, however, certain that he had no
intention of separating from the Roman catholic church;
that if he wished to circumscribe, he would have been
loth to destroy, the papal power. Nothing can ex-
ceed the humility of his letters to Leo : — " Wherefore,
most holy father, I throw myself prostrate at your feet,
with all I have or am. My life and death are in your
hands. Call or recall me, approve or condemn me, as
you please : I shall acknowledge your voice as the voice
of Christ, who presides and speaks in your person."
Though much of this humility was doubtless feigned, to
disarm the resentment of one whom he dreaded, there
can be no doubt that he still beheld the chair of St.
Peter with respect. The intemperate zeal of Prierias
and others, who showed their intolerance by clamouring
for his destruction, and their ignorance by continuing to
elevate the papal character above every thing, aroused the
number of his adherents; but it was evident that the
struggle was at hand, and that he must triumph, orretract,
or perish. How, indeed, Leo should remain so long in-
attentive to these disputes, is surprising : his authority
was openly assailed, yet he long refused to take cogni-
zance of the affair. He called it a mere squabble
among friars, which, if left to itself, would soon fall.

12 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

The truth is, Leo was little attached to Christianity :
he cared not who disputed about the doctrines, so that
himself were left in undisturbed possession of the splen-
dours, of the church. The remonstrances, however, of
his advisers, and, above all, those of the emperor Maxi-
milian, who had at first beheld the reformer with fa-
vour ; but who, however, affected to be alarmed at the
consequences ; roused him from his lethargy. Luther,
who from indulgences now passed to doctrines, by
assailing free will, and the ordinary means of justifica-
tion, was cited to appear at Rome, within sixty days,
to purge himself from the guilt of heresy. But Cajetan,
the papal legate, hearing of the new propositions, at
once declared him a heretic, and summoned him to
appear before his tribunal at Augsburg : if penitent,
the reformer was to be absolved and re-admitted into
the church ; if obstinate, to be detained until Leo's
pleasure was known. It was fortunate for the latter,
that the citation to Rome was superseded ; that the
cause was to be examined within the bounds of the em-
pire, — a favour granted to the prayer of the elector of
Saxony and the university of Wittemberg. Still he
was unwilling to appear, and nothing short of duke
Frederic's commands could have forced his obedience.
Through his friends, however, who were as powerful as
they were numerous, he had the precaution to obtain a
safe-conduct from the emperor.*

1518, Luther repaired to Augsburg, the place appointed for

1519. the assembly of a diet, in the month of October, 1518.
He was accompanied by Staupitz, and by Lintz, two of
his confidential friends. By Cajetan he was received
with respect ; but no good could reasonably be expected

* Sleidan, De Statu Religionis Commentarius, lib. i. Seckendorf, His-
toria Lutheranismi, torn. i. p. 21, &c. Lutheri Epistola?, passim. Maim-
bourg, Histoire du LuthtJranisme, torn. i. liv. i. Bcausobre, Histoire de
la Reformation, torn. i. liv. i. Mosheim, Institutiones Historiae Eccle-
siastiCcB, cent. xvi. sect i. cap. 2. Raynaldus, Annales Ecclesiastic! (sub
annis). Pallavicini, Historia Concilii Tridentini, torn. i. lib. i. cap. 4—8.
Dupin, Histoire Eccl^siastique, cent. xvi. lib. ii. cap. 1. Schmidt, Histoire,
torn. vi. liv. viii. chap. 3. Paulus Jovius, Historia sui Temporis, torn. i.
Struvius, Corpus Historiae Germanicas, torn. ii. (De Maximiliano I.) Guic-
cardini, lib. xii. Trithemius, Annales, A. D. 1512, &c.

MARTIN LUTHER. 13

from the conference. The cardinal, who said that he
had no commission to dispute, demanded an uncon-
ditional submission; the professor, while expressing
the utmost regard for the church, refused to submit,
until his theses were shown to be erroneous. Faith, he
observed, could not be fixed by the legate, or by the
pope. St. Peter himself had erred, — was Leo more in-
fallible ? This language, indeed, was contrary to that
which he had formerly held, — that in which he had
declared his resolution to submit to the papal decision,
be it what it might. But when he held it, his followers,
though numerous, were not powerful, and dangers sur-
rounded him. He now referred the decision to the
universities of Bale, Fribourg, Louvain, and especially
Paris, whose voice he could receive as that of the
church, and yield to it a perfect submission. On one
or two occasions, Cajetan seems to have lost sight
of his resolution not to dispute, and to have been un-
warily led into the controversy respecting the nature of
indulgences. Here he could not, eminent as he was,
appear to much advantage ; and we may believe the
Lutherans, when they tell us that it remained with
their chief. The novel doctrines of justification
by faith, and the predestination of the elect, he re-
garded with contempt, and repeatedly urged a retrac-
tation. There was, indeed, no hope of success from
disputation. On the one side, if the cardinal was pro-
foundly versed in the learning of the schools, he had
no great acquaintance with Scripture ; on the other, if
Luther %vas versed in Scripture, he was not much ac-
quainted with the comments of the fathers and doctors.
In the end, the latter, driven to an extremity by the le-
gate's instances; and perhaps fearful, that if he remained
longer in Augsburg, his safe-conduct would prove of as
little avail as that of Huss had proved; secretly fled from
the city, leaving in the hands of a notary an appeal to the
pope. This was merely an evasion ; for, as the sequel will
show, he was resolved to disregard the papal decision,
unless it favoured his cause; and it was offensive to Caje-

14 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

tan, who throughout the whole of this transaction ex-
hibited equal moderation and dignity. It was, however,
justifiable, except in so far as the deception was concerned:
he did well to retreat, but not to enter his appeal. At his
departure, he wrote a submissive letter to the cardinal,
whose moderation he praised : not forgetting to condemn
his own violence, which he acknowledged had exceeded
all bounds of decorum. By the university of Wittem-
berg, which had probably not expected to see him
again, his return was hailed as a triumph ; but the
elector, though resolved to protect him, was embarrassed.
The offended legate demanded the surrender of the
doctor, or at least his expulsion from Saxony. Frederic
did not wish to quarrel with the Roman see, perhaps to
bring on his own head the censures of the church ; and
he was equally unwilling to part with Luther, whom he
justly regarded as the brightest ornament of the uni-
versity he had founded, and as a champion destined,
perhaps, by providence, to reform the Germanic church.
He soon discovered an expedient. In his reply to
Cajetan, he observed Luther had not yet been convicted
of error ; that until the church spoke, he should regard
him as innocent ; that justice forbade him to punish
any man before conviction, much less one whose doc-
trines were declared to be orthodox. There can be no
doubt that Frederic believed what he said ; and that he
ascribed the hostility of the papal see towards Luther,
solely to the vengeance of those who were interested in
the continuance of abuses. When Leo published a
bull declaratory of the received doctrine respecting in-
dulgences, — that the pope, as Christ's vicar on earth,
had the power of granting them in favour of such as,
whether alive or dead, were in a state of grace, —
Frederic by no means regarded the question as decided.
A pope might err ; a general council only could speak
the sense of the church. With Luther, the case was
different : he had promised submission to Leo's de-
cision; but finding that it was opposed to him, he

MARTIN LUTHER. 15

formally appealed from the pope, as ill-informed, to a
general council. Both, however, would have been placed
in a more embarrassed position, had not the seasonable
death of Maximilian procured them a twofold good : it
removed one who was likely to become an enemy at a
period exceedingly critical ; and it placed in the hands
of Frederic, as hereditary vicar of the empire, the go-
vernment of the provinces subject to the Saxon law.
This event emboldened Luther to proceed with greater
confidence. Incensed at another treatise of Prierias,
who, if possible, outdid even Tetzel in elevating the
papal prerogatives, he republished it, accompanied by
notes of his own, more bitter than any which he had
hitherto penned. He observed, that if the papal pre-
tensions were indeed such as Prierias represented them,
if the flatterers of Rome still persisted in diffusing such
blasphemies, they should first be exhorted to repent-
ance ; and if the exhortation were fruitless, then all men
should rise and exterminate them as monsters who in-
vested man with the divine attributes. If such, he
proceeded, are in reality the doctrines taught to Rome,
then do I boldly declare that Antichrist is seated in the
temple of God ; that he now reigns in Rome, the
scarlet Babylon ; that the Roman court is the synagogue
of Satan. The conclusion was still more emphatic : —
" Farewell, wretched Rome ! lost, blaspheming Rome !
the wrath of God in its highest measure is upon thee,
according to thy deserts ! Instead of profiting by the
prayers which have been offered for thee, thou art be-
come the more misled : we have cleansed the wounds of
Babylon, but she is not healed. Let her remain the
dragon's den, the abode of unclean spirits, an everlasting
confusion. Wholly filled is she with every thing de-
testable,— perjured, apostate, infamous, thievish, simoni-
acal, idolatrous, avaricious, she is a new Pantheon of
iniquity!" To the whole Christian world one thing
was evident, — that such a man could not be removed
by violence, or even by the assumption of authority;

16 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

and conciliatory measures were adopted. Miltitz, a
Saxon gentleman, was sent as nuncio to Frederic, whom
he was ordered to present with a consecrated rose of
gold, and at the same time to try what effect mild-
ness and persuasion might have on the professor. At
Rome there was a well founded notion that Tetzel
had not only wholly mistaken the circumstances of
the case, but had far exceeded his powers ; that even
Cajetan had not used sufficient management ; and in
this feeling Leo, though condemning those who re-
sisted the efficacy of indulgences, had carefully refrained
from designating Luther, lest he should close the door
of reconciliation. It was thought that if Cajetan had
offered Luther a cardinal's hat, no reformation would
have come from him : now, the time of treaty was past.
Miltitz endeavoured to win the confidence of the re-
former. One of his first steps was to sacrifice Tetzel,
whom he loaded with ignominy, for advancing, respect-
ing the papal authority, positions which no good ca-
tholic could endure. The frequency of his convivial
meetings with the reformer excited a suspicion of his
fidelity to the trust reposed in him ; but apparently
without foundation : for though he embraced the person,
demanded the friendship, and praised the talents of the
professor, he earnestly besought him to be reconciled
with the pope, who was anxious to receive him. But
if the nuncio compromised the dignity of his see,
he could gain little beyond evasions, or promises which
there was no intention of fulfilling. Luther was, indeed,
persuaded to write a letter (March, 1510) to the pope,
so extraordinary, that posterity could not believe it to
be his, were it not inserted in his works, and were not
its authenticity admitted by his warmest adherents. In
it, he declares that he, the meanest of men — dust and
ashes — again presumes to address the most holy father,
the high majesty of the pope. He besought his
holiness, who had the mild patience becoming a
father and a vicar of Christ, to receive with favour the

MARTIN LUTHER. 17

groanings of a sheep which belonged to his fold. Ad-
verting to the reproach of Miltitz, that he had been de-
ficient in respect to the holy see, he laments that an
enterprise which he had undertaken with the sole view
of honouring the Roman church, should have been
misunderstood by Leo. " What/' he exclaims, " most
holy father, shall I do ? I know not "what counsel to
take. I cannot support the weight of your anger ; yet
I see no way of escaping it. I am solicited to revoke
my theses ; and this I would instantly do, if the effect
desired could be produced by it." He explains his
meaning : his books were in every body's hands, and
could not be revoked ; and his retractation would injure
the church, because men would believe that it approved
the impositions, the blasphemies, and the other im-
pieties which had been the objects of his attack. He
protests that he never meant to deny the power of the
pope, which was inferior only to that of Christ ; that
he will always exhort the people to honour the Roman
see ; that he will justify it from the impious exagger-
ations of the questors ; that he will for ever renounce
his opposition to the substance of indulgences, provided
his adversaries are made also to renounce their mon-
strous impostures ; that, in a word, he will leave nothing
undone to satisfy his holiness ! t( II faut avouer,"
says Beausobre, one of his most ardent partisans, " que
cette lettre est un triste monument de la foiblesse de
1'homme." He adds, that Luther would be inexcusable,
if he had at this time the knowledge he afterwards ex-
hibited in regard to the origin and nature of the papal
authority. This apology would be a legitimate one,
if it were true ; but he had already declared the pope
to be Antichrist ; and at this very time he wrote to
Spalatin, one of his disciples, that he was in doubt
whether the pope were Antichrist himself, or the apostle
of Antichrist. No casuistry can here save Luther from
the awful charge of deception, unless we suppose that
he wrote the letter when under the influence of wine,
at the request of his boon companion Miltitz. Unfor-

VOL. III. C

18 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

tunately, however, it is not the only instance of duplicity
that can be adduced against him from his writings and
his correspondence. When pressed, for instance, to sub-
mit his cause, not to Leo, who had already condemned his
propositions, but to the German prelates, who could not
possibly bear any ill-will towards him, he promised to
abide by the decision of the archbishop elector of Treves ;
but that this was merely a device to gain time, appeared
from his absolute refusal to be present, though the
elector had undertaken the delicate office, and prepa-
rations been made for the interview. Again, though
he had promised to refrain in future from hostility to
the pope, on the condition of moderation being imposed
on the preachers of the indulgences ; and though this
condition was fulfilled ; neither his pen nor his tongue
ceased to be active. From the pulpit of the church at
Wittemberg, he continued to denounce both his oppo-
nents and the authority of Leo ; and to maintain theses
which no rational member of the established church in
England would hesitate to declare heretical. — He now
appeared as a public disputant at Leipsic, to defend Carl-
stadt, one of his disciples, who had been challenged by
Eckius, the bishop of Marienburg, in whose diocese
Leipsic was situated. The university protested against
a public disputation on two grounds : it could not, they
well knew, lead to any good ^and its object was to make
laymen judges of what none but the most learned lay-
men can possibly understand, — matters of faith. Tlie
will, however, of George duke of Saxony, who offered
his palace for the occasion, prevailed ; and the polemics
repaired to Leipsic in the month of June, 15 19-*

* Struvius, Corpus Histonae Germanics, p. 979. Echeider, Scriptores
Ordinis Prsedicatorum, torn. ii. Loscherus, Acta et Documenta Relbrma-
tionis, tom. ii. cap. 11. et torn vi. cap. 7. Sleidan, De Statu Religionis Com-
mentarius, lib. i. et ii. Lutheri Epistola*, passim. Raynaldus, Annales
Ecclesiastic!, A. D. l/il8, 1519. Seckendorf, Commentarius Historicus
Apologeticus de Lutheranismo, passim. Beausobre, Histoire de la Kefcrm-
ation, tom.i. liv. 2. Maimbourg, Histoire du Lutheranisnie, tom. i. liv. 1.
Mosheim, Historia Ecclesiastica, cent xvi. sect. 1. Bossuet, Histoire des
Variations des Eglises Protestantes, liv. i. Schmidt,Hi»toire, tom.vi. liv.viii.
chap. 3. Coxe, House of Austria, vol. i. chap. 26, 27.

Schmidt and Coxe, catholic and protestant, bare a moderation highly
honourable to their cause. To the rest, little praise can be awarded.

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 19

Neither the dispute at Leipsic, nor the reformation
itself,can be understood without a knowledge of the funda-
mental doctrine with which Luther astonished the world.
Hence, though averse to controversial divinity, we should
ill discharge our duty to the reader, if we failed to ex-
plain that doctrine, and show in what it differed from
the established dreed. The subject is as curious in it-
self, as it is necessary to our purpose, since it exhibits
the divergence of human opinion in concerns the most
momentous. As we are neither Roman catholics nor
Lutherans, we cannot fairly be charged with partiality.

The fundamental stone of Luther's religious edifice 1519.
regards the justification of man. From the earliest
ages, the church had taught that the principles of justifi-
cation are two, — faith and good works. By faith was
understood a simple belief in the doctrines and duties
proposed in the Christian church. Good works, as a
condition equally necessary, could only be produced by
the Spirit of God influencing the heart ; but then, as the
human will co-operated with grace, there was believed to
be some merit in such works. Lest, however, vanity
should arise, it was earnestly inculcated, that as good
works could not be produced by the mere will, their value
entirely depended on the operation of the Holy Ghost ;
that in all things the glory was God's, since the will
itself was of grace, and as much a gift of God as the
sanctifying influence of His Spirit. Both were the
gratuitous effect of the divine mercy, — the former im-
planted in man at his creation, the latter procured by
the merits and sufferings of Christ. Though the will
had suffered less by the fall than any other faculty of
man, it was, of itself, powerless to good; and, until it
was assisted by divine influence, it could not take one
step towards the attainment of life eternal. Still one
great advantage remained : being free, the will could
call on God, through Christ, for a measure of His grace,
to aid its imperfect efforts. Hence, in the language of
the schools, the grace of congruity, or the co-operation
c 2

20 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

of God and man, as required in the work of salvation ;
and hence the propriety with which, by the ancient
fathers, man is called socius Dei.

But this doctrine, though so reasonable as always to
have satisfied the common sense of mankind, and though
approved by every rational Christian of the present day,
did not satisfy Luther. He held that man is wholly cor-
rupt, in will no less than in every other faculty; that, con-
sequently, he has not the power either to wish what is
good, or to co-operate in the slightest degree with the
Spirit of God ; that, on the contrary, all his wishes, all his
thoughts and feelings, are naturally and necessarily to-
wards evil ; and that nothing short of the resistless force
of the divine will can counteract the tendency. Thus, as
man is entirely passive in the work of his salvation ;
as he is the mere recipient of the divine grace, which
produces every thing within him — the will no less
than the deed ; the salvation of the few, and the re-
probation of the many, are equally the work of God.
If, as Luther taught, they only could be saved, whom
God chooses to visit with his Spirit ; if the operation of
that Spirit were always effectual — in other words, re-
sistless ; unconditional predestination to life, and repro-
bation to death everlasting, were a consequence too
inevitable not to be received. Hence he contended, that
those only could be saved, whom God in his hidden
councils had from eternity decreed unto life ; those only
could be damned, whom he had decreed to that fate. —
Leaving for the present, however, this monstrous doc-
trine, and reverting to that of man's justification, the
reasoning and authority by which he attempted to esta-
blish his point, are sufficiently explicable. He had read in
Scripture, that mankind have been redeemed by Jesus
Christ, and that through faith in Him we are saved.
Hence he concluded, that faith in the death of Christ
alone sufficed for justification. By it His righteousness
is imputed to us ; in other words, by the operation of
this principle we become participators in the merits of
Christ, and are thereby enabled to offer His righteous-

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 21

ness instead of our own. But what is this faith by
which the merits of Christ are applied to us ? It is
not a mere belief, however deep and sincere, in the
truths of the Gospel — in the divine authority of the
doctrines and duties declared by inspiration. It is a
new and special principle — a personal application of
the belief that Christ died for us ; it is a mere act of
the soul, by which, while we offer that belief unto Christ,
we also believe that, in virtue of that act, our sins are at
once remitted. Hence the formation of one act of faith,
— "I believe that Christ died for me," and " I believe
that through that death my sins are pardoned," — con-
stitutes the sum and substance of justification; that act
being endowed with a certain mysterious virtue, by
which the merits of Christ and pardon of sin are ap-
plied to our souls ! Strange as this dogma must appear
to every mind unbiassed by sectarian principles, who does
not see the reason of its adoption ? Believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved! is the fre-
quent and solemn injunction of Scripture: it means,
Believe in the character and mission of our Saviour, in
the divine authority of the religion which He incul-
cated, in the efficacy of His merits, sufferings, and in-
tercession ; in other words, believe the doctrines which
he taught, and practise the duties which he enjoined.
The peculiar propriety of this command at a time when
Judaism and idolatry divided the whole earth, — a com-
mand which simply implied, Forsake your present re-
ligion, and embrace Christianity! — must be apparent to
every one. That, in such circumstances, it should be
earnestly and incessantly enforced, was inevitable. But
this meaning of the word faith, though so natural, ob-
vious, and so universally received from the origin of
Christianity, did not satisfy the professor of Wittem-
berg. As we have seen, he assigned to it one equally
novel, inexplicable, and incomprehensible ; thereby
transforming religion into a system which excluded not
only philosophy but common sense. We may add,
that in twenty instances besides the present, he dis-
o 3

22 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

turbed the minds of men by departing from the esta-
blished meaning of words, and assigning another which,
however it might suit his peculiar system, rendered the
definition always a difficult, sometimes an impossible,
task to his theological adversaries.*

1519. Were the peculiar meaning assigned by Luther to
justification by faith a mere doctrinal matter, without
any influence over the conduct of men, without any
connection with vice or virtue, it would deserve little
notice. But its effect, though not so intended, is dan-
gerous. By teaching that the justifying principle
comes entirely from a special visitation of God's Spirit ;
that there is nothing within us to co-operate with it ;
that it consists in a mere act of faith, by which we
are firmly persuaded that our sins are forgiven, — that
act being the gratuitous effect of God's favour; he
directly opposed the foundations of repentance and of
good works. " If you believe," is the substance of his
doctrine, " with the same assurance that your sins are
forgiven, as you do that Christ died for the world, your
salvation is certain ; but to be infallible, the belief must
be absolute ; there must not be the shadow of distrust,
or you still remain under condemnation." The mis-
chief of the doctrine was, that while such stress was laid
on the necessity of believing that our sins are absolutely
forgiven, little, or even none, was placed on that of re-
pentance. The merit of good works was, in a peculiar
degree, the object of Luther's aversion. He held, that
in the best action there might be sin ; and in a more
rigorous sense than he intended, this is true; for as
motives are often recondite, and as self-love adds to
our blindness, we may easily deceive ourselves. But
he contended, that such actions have in them, of ne-
cessity, the nature of sin ; while the works of God —

* Lutheri Opera, in a multitude of places, especially in his Commentaries
on the New Testament. S. Augustinus, De Gratia, cap. 1. S. Anselmus,
De Concordia Gratise cum Libero Arbitrio, passim. Pallavicini, Historia
Concilii Tridentini, lib. i. Bossuet, Histoire des Variations, torn i. liv. 1.
Dupin, Historia Ecclesiastica, cent xvi. lib. ii. cap. 1. Beausobre, His.
toire de la Reformation, torn. i. liv. I.

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 23

viz. the works produced by us through God's grace,
— however repulsive in appearance, are of eternal
merit. He did not consider that, as the good works we
perform are wrought in us by divine grace, they are, of
necessity, also the works of God, and, consequently,
meritorious. To exclude all subject of confidence, he
taught that every good work of the righteous would be
a mortal sin, if they did not fear it might be so : if they
did not tremble lest every act, however conformable
with the divine word, would bring damnation on their
heads, there could be no well-founded trust, no exclu-
sion of presumption. In this case, there could be no
hope for obedience ; since no man could know that his
obedience were pleasing to Heaven ; since it might have
the nature, not of virtue, but of sin. If, however, the
Christian were thus forbidden to confide in the sincerity
and efficacy of his repentance, he was not to doubt that
his sins were pardoned ; for pardon depended entirely
on the pleasure of God, not on any good disposition of
the creature. " Believe that you are saved, and you
are saved, whatever be your inward disposition!" is
the monstrous advice of this celebrated reformer. Hence
that watchfulness which every man was constantly to
exercise over his own heart ; that severe scrutiny with
which he was to weigh his own motives ; that rigorous
self-examination, to ascertain whether the conscience
were attuned with the music of God's word, whether its
harmony had been violated; were vain and superstitious.
One thing only was to be feared, — lest faith should
not be sufficiently strong — lest even the justified sinner
should have the impiety to doubt that his offences were
remitted, that he was in the favour of God. If such a
doctrine were true, as is forcibly observed by an excel-
lent divine of our own church * — if a mere act of faith
were sufficient to justify us, and the conviction of that
justification the only or the chief condition required
from us, instead of saying with the man in Scripture,

* Dr. Zachary Pearce, chaplain to Charles II., in his Twelve Sermons on
the text, " What shaU I do to be saved ? "

0 4

24 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

Who, then, can be saved? our only exclamation should
be, Who, then, can be damned ? To teach that faith,
not repentance, was the necessary condition of justifica-
tion, opened the door to immorality ; and Luther was
compelled to modify his doctrine by inculcating, that
where there was no amendment of life, there was no
true faith. Assuredly he had no wish to encourage
immorality ; he held, like the most orthodox, that
without repentance there could not possibly be remission
of sins. But the mischief was not the less inevitable ;
since he taught that repentance cannot precede justifica-
tion ; that it is no disposition, no preparation whatever;
that it follows faith as naturally, as necessarily, as the
shadow follows the substance; that the best works
prior to pardon — prior to that mysterious act of faith
which has greater power than the Arabian talisman —
— have, in reality, the nature of sin. If, then, con-
trition of heart and amendment of life be impossible
before justification ; if, before that inexplicable change,
the best works be sins ; why trouble ourselves about
them ? The convert is, indeed, taught, that, after jus-
tification, good works are inevitable ; but this pro-
position is no less monstrous than the other. What is
this mysterious connection between belief and practice ?
That men may sincerely believe in the divine authority
of Scripture, and have a deep acquaintance with its in-
junctions, promises, and denunciations, yet live as if
they had no such belief, no such knowledge, is con-
firmed by all human experience. If the devils them-
selves believe, so, often, do the wicked. Infidelity, in
fact, is much rarer than we generally suppose : even
the men who never open the sacred volume, or enter
the walls of a religious edifice, cannot either so far
smother the operations of conscience, or so far divest
themselves of the instruction, however imperfect, they
received during childhood,, as not to dread a hereafter.
They believe in the certainty of a future judgment ;
they know how that judgment can be rendered pro-

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 25

pitious ; yet that belief and this knowledge have no
effect on their lives. Of this fact, Luther, who did not
want acuteness, however he might be deficient in learn-
ing, and still more in philosophy, was well aware ; and
he was compelled to reject the definition which, during
fifteen centuries, had been applied to faith, and assign
the novel one we have already noticed, — that divine
was altogether different from human faith ; that it was
not attainable by the human faculties ; that it was a
miraculous gift, endowed with miraculous properties.
What this faith is, he no where attempts to explain ;
simply, because he acknowledges it to be above com-
prehension. It is a principle to be felt, not to be un-
derstood. To ask him by what authority, or on what
ground, he thus insulted the common sense of mankind,
and perverted the oracles of God, would have been a
useless enquiry. The reply might have been, that such
was the meaning of the word ; that if this meaning were
not clearly and deeply felt by the enquirer, he was not
in a state of grace ; that the whole was a mystery
hidden from the wise, and revealed unto babes ; that
God only could enable him to understand the word.
With such an adversary, all disputation were useless.
Rejecting the established acceptation of terms, he claims
a measure of knowledge superior to that held by the
rest of mankind ; proclaims himself a favourite of hea-
ven, supernaturally taught and led ; and contends that
no man can be wise unto salvation, or can be favoured
as he is, who does not renounce all human means of
knowledge, and forsake the domain of reason for that
of enthusiasm. Assuredly there is nothing so repug-
nant to reason as this Lutheran doctrine.*

With such opinions on the part of the reformers, 1519.
what benefit could be expected from the conference at
Leipsic ? Few, however, could be more imposing. The

* Chiefly the same authorities. Add Luscherus, Acta et Documenta
Reformationis, torn. iii. cap. 7. Seckendorf, Commentarius Historico-
Apologeticus de Lutheranismo, 'passim.

26 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

dukes of Saxony and Pomerania, the magistrates of
Leipsic and the neighbouring cities, the university of the
place, with many doctors from other parts, exclusive of a
multitude of students and laymen, were present. A pre-
sident was named ; secretaries were chosen to commit the
acts to writing ; the speakers were authorised, and even
exhorted, to deliver their sentiments with impunity ; and
the universities of Erfurt and Paris were constituted
judges of the dispute. It was opened by Carlstadt and
Eckius, who, during several consecutive days, maintained
it with spirit. It chiefly regarded grace and free-will,
consequently it involved the nature and means of jus-
tification. Carlstadt defended the proposition of his
master, by contending, that by nature we are wholly
unfit ; that our will can neither turn us to good, nor
co-operate with God's spirit ; that, consequently, there
is no merit of condignity ; that the will is in all cases
the passive recipient of grace, which works within it
all the good effected by man. Man, indeed, can will
and do ; but he can will and only do what is evil ;
that the will and the power to do good must come from
above. On the other hand, Eckius contended that the
will is not the passive recipient of grace ; that on feel-
ing the divine influence, it co-operates ; that it is thereby
roused into action ; and that its concurrence is necessary
both for the commencement and progress of the Chris-
tian life. By holding, too, that the will can apply for
the assistance of the spirit ; that it can alone take the
initiative in the work of salvation — agreeably to that
injunction of St. Jerome, which exhorts the sinner to cease
from evil, and to the doctrine of St. Bernard, which calls
man socius Dei ; Eckius still further removed from the
theses of his adversary. The concord of the human
will with the operations of grace, he declared to be a
necessary preparation for the reception of the justifying
principle ; that though, in the work of sanctification,
the will is passive, that sanctification has been procured,
in some degree merited, by the congruity. We may

MARTIN LUTHER. 27

observe, that Eckius here yields too much to his oppo-
nents. By the ablest doctors of the church universal —
and in this we comprise the Greek and the English, no
less than the Roman catholic church — especially by St.
Anselm*, it has been shown that this concord of the
will is necessary not only to the reception of grace, but
throughout the operation of the sanctifying principle ;
so that its active position will accelerate, no less than its
secession will destroy, and its indifference suspend, that
mysterious operation. — As to the honour of the dispute,
it was, of course, claimed for Carlstadt by the Lutherans,
and for Eckius by the catholics. One who belongs to
neither may observe that, independent of the merits of
the subject, Eckius greatly excelled his adversary in
scholastic learning, in knowledge of the fathers, and
in eloquence, while he was inferior to the other in the
adduction of scriptural texts. But even this advantage of
Carlstadt is neutralised by his perversion of the meaning
that a succession of ages had applied to them. From
a careful examination of the acts, we have no hesitation
in asserting that the laurel must be awarded to Eckius.
That Luther was sensible how incompetent was his
ally and disciple to struggle with the Roman catholic
polemic, is evident from his interruption of the con-
troversy. In the midst of it, he preached in the chapel
of duke George's castle a sermon, which he well knew
would direct the hostility of Eckius towards himself. The
latter immediately selected from Luther's works thirteen
propositions, which he met by as many counter theses.
They regard most of the points at issue between the
protestant and Roman catholic churches. The thirteenth,
being that which denied the superiority of the Roman
see over churches, and the consequent supremacy of the
pope over all other bishops, was made by Eckius the
first in the order of discussion. He maintained that
the church was a monarchy, with a divinely constituted
head. Luther admitted the fact, but contended that

* See Europe during the Middle Ages, vol. iv., sketch of St. Anselm.

28 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

the head was no other than Jesus Christ ; and in sup-
port of his argument he adduced several 'scriptural
texts. Eckius objected the authority of St. Jerome and
of St. Cyprian ; but was answered, that the testimony of
St. Cyprian supported the contrary. In this, Luther
was doubtless wrong ; for though St. Cyprian con-
demns frequent appeals to Rome, he calls the Roman
see the centre of sacerdotal unity ; and the very fact
that appeals were carried thither, proves the light in
which antiquity beheld that see. The authority of St.
Jerome could not be shaken by Luther ; but he con-
tended, that the supremacy of the pope extended only to
the Western church, and that it was not jure divino,
but founded on custom and tacit consent. Still less
could the disputants agree on the interpretation of the
celebrated passage, Thou art Peter, 6$c.; which seems
to mean no more than this, — " Thou art Peter (a rock),
and upon a rock I will build my church ;" — for as to the
accompanying particle in the Greek text, it may have
been added by transcribers who conscientiously believed
the pope's supremacy, and that this supremacy was in-
volved in the text. In this dispute, the reformer appears
to have had the advantage ; and no less so, in proving that
general councils might err, as that of Constance had lately
done. Unfortunately, however, for his cause, that council
was dear to Germany ; and the proposition that a council,
the depositary of doctrine, could be deceived, was heard
with displeasure by a great majority of the spectators.
Some odium, too, was cast on him, because he enforced
three or four of the propositions of Huss, which Huss
had derived from Wycliffe. In these there was nothing
perhaps unreasonable : but Bohemia and its reformers
were detested by the Germans ; so that here, again,
national feeling predominated. — On the question
of purgatory, which comprised the second subject of
dispute, Luther had evidently not made up his mind.
He admitted, though with reluctance, the existence of a
middle state; but asserted that souls there had merit of

MARTIN LUTHER. 29

their own, sufficient to release them, when God's jus-
tice was satisfied, from the torments they endured ; while
Eckius endeavoured to show that they had no merit,
and their deliverance could be expected only from the
suffrages of the saints, from the papal power of the ke^s,
through the medium of indulgences. Here, again,
Luther was victorious. — In the third subject of dispute,
the nature of indulgences, Luther had so decidedly the
advantage, that he seems to have drawn his antagonist
to his own opinion ; at least the latter introduced points
which, however consentaneous with the belief of the wise
and good, had been opposed by Leo and other popes.
In the ordinary, or at least the interested, acceptation of
the term, indulgences were, as the reformers well proved,
a virtual abolition of good works ; since they conferred a
dispensation from the penalties incurred by him who
had offended. The conviction that such a dispensation
could be procured for money, that the penalties de-
nounced against any particular transgression would
never be enforced, was not likely to deter from crime,
with those who could command the means of redemption.
But Luther did not deny that the pope had power to
grant dispensations from temporal penalties ; that, in
themselves, indulgences were not censurable: he as-
sailed the abuse only ; and in these sentiments Eckius
concurred. — The fourth subject of disputation, repent-
ance, was little more than a dispute about words. Lu-
ther contended, that without love, no action could be
agreeable to Heaven ; Eckius thought fear might deter
from sin ; but both agreed that fear without love is not
religion, though it may be an introduction to religion.
—In regard to the subsequent points of dispute, abso-
lution, grace, and free will, — subjects on which Carlstadt
again entered the lists, — we shall only observe, that
there was fundamentally less difference between the par-
ties than their words conveyed. Respecting the whole
controversy, and the peculiar opinions of Luther, we
may adopt the words of a modern English divine : —

30 BISTORT OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

" The doctrine of justification by faith alone, without
works, was an early and favourite tenet of Luther, and
a leading principle in the articles of religion drawn up
by him : and although it seems at first sight to be
merely a doctrinal point, yet it had an extraordinary ten-
dency to weaken the papal authority ; for by excluding
good works as entitling men to salvation, it took away
the merit of works of supererogation, and thus over-
set the doctrine of indulgences, and other sources of
papal revenue. Luther afterwards carried this principle
to such excess as to adopt the doctrine of absolute pre-
destination and necessity, in almost the same degree as
Calvin. Against these positions, the Roman catholics
asserted the reality of free-will, and the consequent ne-
cessity of good works, as well as faith ; and even the
warmest adherents of Luther cannot deny that he was
often reduced to the most absurd conclusions and em-
barrassing dilemmas, to maintain his doctrine." — " On
the subject of free will, grace, and good works, the ca-
tholic divine prevailed in point of argument ; but Luther
had the advantage in the articles relative to the su-
premacy of the pope, indulgences, and the inferences
deduced from these principles."*

1519, During these disputes, Luther was not insensible to

1520. the storm which threatened him from Rome; and he
used every art, now to divert its fury, now to obtain
shelter when it should fall on his head. His conduct,
however, was occasionally marked by inconsistency ;
for if he professed at one moment submission to the
Roman see, in the next be openly defied it. Hence he
has been charged with duplicity, no less than with vio-
lence. His Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the
Galatians, which appeared in 1520, was undertaken

* Seckendorf, Commentarius Apologeticus, ubi supra. Loscherus, Acta
et Documents, torn. iii. cap. 7. Lutherus, Kesolutiones super Propos Lips.
Disput (Opera, torn. ii.). Pallayicini, Historia Concilii Tridentini, torn. i.
lib. 1. cap. 15, 1& Sicilian, De Statu Religionis Comment, lib. i. p. 22.
Dupin, Historia Ecclesiastica, cent. xvi. lib. ii. cap. 5. Mosheim, Historia,
cent. xvi. sect 1. cap. 2. Beausobre, Histoire de la Reformation, torn. i.
liv. 2. Coxe, House of Austria, vol. i. p. 459.

MARTIN LUTHER.

with the twofold view of proving that men are justified
by faith alone, and that the pope was the very Anti-
christ, the beast of Babylon. In it he accumulates
every opprobrious epithet to the disparagement of the
Roman church ; and that, too, in a tone so indecent,
that it would not be tolerated in the lowest publication
of the day, much less in an exposition of Scripture.
And in a letter, written to his friend Spalatin, a do-
mestic officer of the elector, he says, — " I despise alike
the anger and the favour of Rome : henceforth I will
have neither peace nor communion with it. Let it con-
demn, let it burn, my books, if it please; and, in
return, I will condemn and burn the decrees and con-
stitutions of the popes. I will for ever renounce sub-
mission. I have already shown too much, since it has
only increased the pride of the enemies of the Gospel."
Yet, at this very time, he wrote to a cardinal at Rome :
he besought that dignitary to interfere in his affair ;
that he would submit to any thing short of a formal
recantation, and of being branded as a heretic. The
tendency of his writings, however, was both to throw
off the papal authority, and to secure himself against
the papal vengeance. This was, above all, evident in
three treatises which he composed at this time. In his
Prceludium de Captivitate Babylonicd, he assails several
of the Roman tenets and observances, especially the
sacraments, — those, above all, in which the Roman
power and wealth was founded. Protesting his regret
for the favour which he had hitherto shown towards the
Roman see, he declares that he is now much wiser than
he was ; that if he had allowed the virtue of indulgences,
he now stigmatised the whole as a fraud, devised to pro-
cure money at the expense of faith ; that the popedom,
instead of being jure divino, was a perfect Babylon; that
the sacraments were not seven, but three, — Baptism,
Penance, and the Lord's Supper ; that in the eucharist,
though the bread and wine remain, there is really pre-
sent the body and blood of Christ; that, however, it

32 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

was immaterial whether transubstantiation or consub-
stantiation were the belief of the Christian, and he
allowed either notion to his followers ; that the mass is
not a sacrifice ; that the sacraments have no divine
virtue, no efficiency, inherent in them, and that if grace
accompany them, it is obtained through the faith of the
partaker ; that baptism, for instance, is useless, if
unaccompanied by faith, the principle which alone
gives it vitality ; that confirmation and ordination are
mere ceremonies ; that marriage is merely a civil con-
tract ; that divorce in case of adultery is lawful, and
the parties may marry again ; that priests may marry
as well as other people ; that there is no distinct cha-
racter in ordination, since all pious laymen are priests,
and may, as such, administer the sacraments ; that
extreme unction is vain, useless, and not of divine au-
thority, since the Epistle of St. James, the only scrip-
tural warrant for the tenet, was never written by any
apostle, and contains nothing worthy of an apostle. The
hostility of the reformer to that epistle, which he stig-
matises as straminea, fit only to be burnt, is obvious.
St. James not only was believed to sanction extreme
unction, but, beyond any other writer in the sacred
canon, does he enforce the necessity of good works ; and
it is for this latter reason especially, that he incurs the
wrath of the Wittemberg theologian. To be prepared
against the consequences of this praeludium, Luther
composed, in the vernacular language, another work still
more offensive. In it he affirmed that the emperor was
the natural superior of the pope and the clergy ; that
every priest was a layman, every layman a priest ; that
both orders of men were equally bound to fulfil the
commands of the prince ; that the authority now held
by the pope, such as that of confirming bishops, of
calling general councils, and determining the sense of
Scripture, were the lawful prerogatives of the sovereign,
who ought to reclaim from the Roman tyrant the sword
which God had intrusted to him ; that the cardinals

MARTIN LUTHER. 33

were a set of useless men, not above four among them
having either learning or morals ; that whatever power
the Roman court possessed, was a manifest usurpation ;
that the pope's power, and the whole system of canon
law, should be annihilated. He knew that the papal
pretensions were no welcome subject to the Germans ;
and so long as he endeavoured to prove from history that
they had occasioned most of the troubles the empire had
sustained, the hearts of the people might be expected to
go along with him ; but, in the violence of his invective,
he overshot his mark. If the Germans were willing to
circumscribe the papal authority, they were averse to
augment the imperial : they knew, that if it were taken
from one, it would be bestowed on the other potentate ;
and if it were allowed to exist at all, far better that it
should remain in the hands of the present holder, than
be transferred to one who would assuredly use it with
less moderation. Hence this treatise had little effect, —
as little as a submissive letter which he addressed to the
new emperor, Charles V. ; and in which he displayed,
with considerable ingenuity, the most favourable parts
of his system. Charles, though sufficiently inclined to
stretch the imperial prerogatives to their utmost limit,
was at heart a thorough Roman catholic. He believed
that the papal authority, however it might have been
abused, was of divine ordination; and the doctrinal
novelties of Luther still more indisposed him to the
change now in operation. In fact, Luther's own con-
duct, — his alternate violence and dissimulation, his
inconsistency, — had taught the sober part of man-
kind to distrust his motives. Insincerity seemed to
be his predominant defect. To instance another ex-
ample : when the pope seemed hostile to his views,
he took care to separate the papacy from the church,
and to express the most profound submission for
the decisions of the latter, however unfavourable they
might prove to his own opinions. Should he, should
any man, dare to place his private judgment in oppo-

VOL. III. D

34 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE

sition to the declared will of the whole body ? a will
which, on more occasions than one, he admitted to be
infallible ? Whether it were so declared by a general
council, or by two or three orthodox universities, or by
a commission of Germanic prelates, was sufficient for
him : come whence it might, be its purport what it
might, it should find a ready obedience in him ; and,
by a solemn public act, he protested that, happen what
might, he would live and die in the Roman catholic
church. But when the two universities of Louvain
and Cologne condemned some dangerous propositions in
his works, he defied their censures, and exalted more
than he had hitherto depressed the authority of the holy
see. He had, he said, like a dutiful son of the church,
laid his works before the supreme head, whose decision
he was daily expecting. Whence the presumption of
these universities towards our holy father Leo, from
•whose hands they had snatched his books, whose privi-
lege of interpretation they had usurped ? Was the pope
to be thus degraded ; to be made a cipher in the church
universal? It was, doubtless, some such acknowledg-
ment as this, that made the nuncio Miltitz averse to
break off his negotiations. He prevailed on the Au-
gustinian friars to remonstrate with their refractory
brethren ; to advise moderation and submission to the
church. Two superiors of the order, celebrated as much
for their desire of reformation as for their abilities, and
even their regard for Luther, prevailed on him to pro-
mise that he would write a letter of unconditional sub-
mission to Leo. Whence this weakness ? If he had
promulgated many erroneous propositions, undoubtedly
there were some founded in truth, which did not deserve
to be thus strangely abandoned. We fear, however,
the cause was worse than weakness : that it was a part
of that duplicity in which he could equal any man of
his own time. He wrote, indeed, a letter, accom-
panying a copy of a treatise on Christian liberty, — a
treatise chiefly remarkable for its denying the merit of

MARTIN LUTHER. 35

good works, and for its zealous inculcation of the doc-
trine that we are justified by faith alone, — but such
a letter was never before addressed to a pope. In it he
says, that though he has had to war with many monsters,
he had never ranked the holy Leo amongst the number ;
that if he had appealed to a future council, he had been
forced to do so by the intemperance of the pope's flat-
terers ; that he had never denied the papal authority,
nor spoken ill of the person of Leo ; that if he had been
so lost to all sense of respect for the dignity, he would
instantly revoke whatever he had said or written ; that,
though the Roman court was notoriously more corrupt
than Sodom or Babylon, his holiness was untainted,

— a Daniel among lions, an Ezekiel among serpents.
As a mark of especial condescension, he offers to be at
peace with Leo ; provided, first, he shall not be required
to recant what he has already written , and, secondly,
he shall be allowed to interpret the Scriptures in his
own way. The audacity of this letter ; its insulting
sarcasms, preceded as they had been by unparallelled
duplicity and violence, could not be overlooked. It was
now evident that the writer would never submit ; that
no reliance could be placed on his promises ; and it was
resolved to temporise no longer, since delay would only
invigorate his errors. A congregation of cardinals was
assembled ; the works of Luther were laid before them ;
and the bull of condemnation was drawn up, sanctioned,
and published. After an invocation of Christ, of
St. Peter, St. Paul, and all the saints, who are brought
to help the church in its hour of need, Leo proceeds
to lament the prevalent heresy, and to condemn,
from the writings of its chief, forty-one propositions,

— some as manifestly heretical, some as scandalous,
others as rash and dangerous. They are very fairly
extracted ; and though all were thus censured by
Leo, some are founded alike on Scripture and reason.
That the faithful should receive the communion under
both kinds ; that the treasures of the church, whence

D 2

36 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

the pope distributes his indulgences, are not the merits
of Christ and the saints ; that indulgences are pious
frauds, since they cannot, in reference to the divine
justice, remit the punishment due to actual sin ; that
they do not conduce to salvation ; that they are not
necessary for the dead, the dying, the sick, the in-
nocent ; that excommunication does not affect the spi-
ritual nature of man, nor deprive him of the prayers of
the church, but is merely an outward punishment ; that
some articles of Huss were unjustly condemned; that
to burn heretics is to act against the spirit of God;
that purgatory cannot be proved by any text of canonical
Scripture ; that the bishop of Rome is not the vicar
of Christ, any more than other metropolitans, nor is
directly invested with the supremacy over the church
universal ; that the bishops and secular princes would
not do ill, if they abolished every community of men-
dicant friars ; are propositions which, in the main,
appear consistent with reason and Scripture. On these
subjects Luther was strong beyond any man of his age ;
and his labours must be lauded by posterity. But, un-
fortunately for human nature, it is seldom contented
with a medium ; and, of all men that ever lived, the Ger-
man professor was least inclined to moderation. So that
he assailed the dominant church, especially its odious
hierarchy, he cared not what paradoxes he advanced,
what propositions he maintained. That his object was
not a sincere wish to discover the truth, but to cavil at
every thing revered, to pull down every thing received,
appears to us manifest from most of his remaining
propositions. He taught that sacraments do not confer
grace ; that after baptism, sin remains in the infant just
as before ; that original sin, if there were no actual,
would prevent the departing soul from immediately en-
tering heaven ; that fear in dying is alone sufficient to
exclude us from heaven ; that repentance does not in-
volve satisfaction for our evil deeds, but consists merely
in a change of life, without any care for the past ; that
contrition only makes a man a hypocrite and a greater

MARTIN LUTHER. 37

sinner ; that towards remission no repentance avails,
but faith alone ; that in the sacrament of penance, ab-
solution might be pronounced by any layman — nay, by
any woman or child ; that excommunication should be
rather courted than feared ; that the church cannot
draw up articles of faith ; that the just man sins in all
his works; that every good is,. at least, a venial sin ;
that to resist the Turk would be to resist God himself,
who had ordained the Turk to scourge mankind; that
there is no such thing as free will. These, and many
other propositions condemned in the papal bull, however
they may be received in the conventicles, have no con-
nection with Scripture or reason. No less a doom than
excommunication was decreed against all men who
henceforth held, defended, or preached any of them.
To Luther himself sixty days were allowed for his re-
tractation ; but if, at the end of that time, he was still
obstinate, he was declared excommunicate, his works
were to be burnt, and an interdict laid on whatever place
he might inhabit. To give due solemnity to this im-
portant instrument, two nuncios, Eckius and Aleandri,
were sent into Germany to watch over its execution. So
great, however, was the agitation of men's minds, that
in some parts it could not be published ; in others, the
partisans of Luther openly trampled it under foot ; in
many it was suffered to be executed, but no enthusiasm
attended the act, no sign of public approbation hailed
the committal of the reformer's writings to the flames.
Of these men who condemned his doctrines, many
thought that the precipitation of the pope was not to be
approved ; but the indifference of the majority proved
that the influence of Rome was departed.*

* Loscher, Acta et Documenta Reform, torn. iii. cap. 8, &c. Meyer,
De Pontificatu Leonis X. Processum adversus Lutherum Iraprobantibus
Dissertatio (Ecclesia Romana Reformationis Lutherans Patrona). Pal-
lavicini, Historia Concilii Tridentini, torn. i. lib. i. cap. 16 — 20. Secken-
dorf, Commentarius Historicus de Lutheranismo, tom. i. lib. 2. Maimbourg,
Histoire du Lutheranisme, torn. i. liv. 1. Beausobre, Histoire de la Re-
formation, tom. ii. liv. 3. Dupin, Historia Ecclesiastica, cent. xvi. lib. 2.
cap. 6, 7. 9. Mosheim, Historia, cent 'xvi. sect. i. cap. 2. Bossuet, Histoire
des Variations, torn. i. liv. 1, 2. Pluquet, Dictionnaire des Ht?re'sies,
torn. ii. art. Luther. Sleidan, De Statu Religionis, lib. ii. Schmidt, His-
toire des Allemands, torn. vi. liv. 8. chap. 4.
D 3

38 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

1520, Though the emperor Charles was easily persuaded to
1521- execute the bull, so far as his influence extended, Lu-
ther was not daunted by the event. On the contrary,
his resolution rose with the occasion. He could rely on
the frequent pledges of support, which he had received
from some German nobles ; and he knew, that though
the elector of Saxony was cautious and politicf his good
will was not wanting. Of this Frederic gave a signal
proof, in refusing to send Luther to Rome at the de-
mand of the nuncio. He would not, he said, defend
heresy, but he wished the professor to be examined in
person before a competent number of unbiassed eccle-
siastics; that there should a safe-conduct for Luther's
journey and return ; that if the crime were there
proved, he could not, as a true son of the church, pro-
tect Luther any longer. From this moment the re-
former became the open enemy of the holy see ; never
again did he treat it with the slightest respect, but de-
nounced it as the seat of every evil, as a curse to Chris-
tianity and the world. In the first impulse of his
wrath, he set all consequences at defiance. Having
renewed his appeal to a general council, he proceeded,
in three successive publications, to assail the bull, its
author, and the court of Rome, in language so un-
measured, that, whatever might be thought of his zeal,
no man could praise his Christian temper. The titles of
two — Adversus execrabilem Antichristi Bullam, and
Assertio omnium Articulorum Martini Lutheri in Bulla
Leonis X.novissime damnatorum — will sufficiently prove
both his fury and his adherence to his doctrines. In
the former, he calls the pope tyrant, apostate, Anti-
christ, liar, devil. Leo had offered him money to
defray his expenses to Rome, to answer for his faith :
willingly would he go, if the money were sufficient to
hire a retinue of 25,000 foot and 5000 horse : he should
then need no safe-conduct ; and his holiness should not
fail to have such an answer as was deserved. It thus
concluded : — " Pope Leo, — If you do not renounce
your blasphemies, your impieties ; learn that not only I,

MARTIN LUTHER. 39

but every servant of Christ, will consider your throne
as the damnable one of Antichrist, which we will not
obey, and with which we will have no eommunion. We
detest it as in mortal enmity to Christ ; and we are all
ready to suffer witli joy your unjust persecutions ; and,
that we may gratify your barbarous tyranny, we vo-
luntarily devote ourselves to death. If you persevere in
your madness, we condemn and deliver you over to
Satan, with your bulls and your decretals." In the latter
treatise, he not only repeated every objectionable pro-
position which had been condemned, but placed them
in stronger language, and added greatly to the number.
He concluded by asserting, that, unless the mad pope
were reduced to reason — nay, to silence — there was an
end to Christianity ; that there was no medium between
fleeing to the mountains, and ridding the world of the
Roman murderer; and advised his countrymen not to
trouble themselves about the Turk, until the very name
of pope was destroyed on earth. And lest his meaning
should not be sufficiently clear, he added, in a subsequent
work, that the pope was a wild beast possessed by
devils, against whom every village, every hamlet, should
rise ; and to condemn whom there needs neither judge
nor council. He proceeded, addressing Leo, — " What-
ever you condemn in John Huss, I approve ; whatever
you approve, I condemn : such is my retractation !
does it satisfy you ? " And to prove that he was as
much a pope as Leo, he burnt publicly, at Wittemberg,
the papal bull, the decretals, and the controversial
writings of his opponents ; nor could he avoid expressing
his regret that he was unable to inflict the same fate on
Leo himself. Never was fanaticism greater than his,
when, amidst a prodigious concourse of students and
people, he threw the obnoxious books into the fire, ex-
claiming, — " Since ye have troubled the holy of the
Lord, everlasting fire be your portion !" It was doubt-
less at his instigation that his disciple, Ulric de Hatten,
reprinted ^the papal bull, with notes as full of wit as
they were of scurrility. As this strange commentary
D 4

40 HISTORY OP TUE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

turned the whole into ridicule, it had readers even
among the Roman catholics : it afforded amusement
from one end of Germany to the other. — By most pro-
testant writers, Luther has been highly praised for his
courage on these occasions. In our opinion, they are
the acts of one whose passions were ungovernably fierce;
who, to gratify his personal resentments, would have
wrapped the world in flames. That he acted prudently
in withdrawing from the Roman catholic communion
before he was expelled from it, is manifest ; but surely
he might have done so with modesty. Half of his pro-
positions, as condemned in the bull, richly deserved the
censure ; half of them have, since his time, been actually
condemned by the most distinguished theologians, whe-
ther catholic or protestant, of Europe; and the sight
of this Wittemberg professor, imprecating, with more
than papal arrogance, curses on the heads of those who
differed from him, is assuredly not one of the most
edifying. It is acknowledged by some, even of his
warmest admirers, — a candour, however, which has not
been imitated in this island, — that many of his propo-
sitions were hasty, false, and even dangerous. " It
cannot be denied," says Beausobre, " that many of his
positions, considered in themselves and apart from his
explanations, were censurable. He took pleasure in
giving them a paradoxical air, which might surprise by
its novelty : influenced by his desire to combat all
established opinions, he ran into vicious extremes; and,
in his turn, published many things not only rash, but
dangerous in their consequences, through the impressions
necessarily left in the mind of the reader." Here, we
apprehend, is to be found the true secret of Luther's
hostility to the Roman church. He perceived many
abuses, which he honourably assailed ; but, influenced
by a strong feeling of vanity, and by a degree of resent-
ment against his opponents unequalled even in religious
controversy, he resolved to assail every doctrine re-
ceived by the Romish church, so far as he could without
altogether renouncing Christianity. That he effected

MABTIN LUTHER. 41

much good, is acknowledged even by the members of
that communion ; that he was the cause of much evil,
must also be conceded by the candid protestant. While
hailing the reformation in many respects as a good, —
good for the abuses it destroyed, good even for its effect
on the Roman catholic church, — we deplore, deeply
deplore, some dangerous novelties which it engendered.
Let us not, however, forget that the good counter-
balances the evil ; that to Luther we are indebted wholly
for religious, and in some degree for civil, liberty. The
state of the Christian world when Luther appeared, was
bad ; a reformation was inevitable ; and, if it have not
been effected without mischief, if it be not so pure as
we could wish, let us be grateful that there is much that
is excellent in its composition. We hail the work, though
historical justice compels us often to condemn the
instrument.*

Urgent as were the instances made by the nuncios to 1521
procure from Charles the condemnation of Luther and
his adherents, they were vain. Not only the elector of
Saxony, to whom the emperor was indebted for his
crown, and for whose virtues he had a high respect,
but several powerful princes, insisted that the professor
should not be judged unheard. It was not, indeed, safe
to place so celebrated a man thus summarily under the
ban of the empire; and Charles wrote to the elector
to request that he would produce Luther at the diet at
Worms. Yet, notwithstanding the number of the re-
former's adherents, Frederic well knew that most of them
•were ignorant of the theological merits of the ques-
tion ; that the majority of the princes were still for the
ancient faith ; and he was too prudent to incur the re-

* Spalatinus, Annales Reformationis, A. D. 1520. Lutheri Opera (Epistles
and Prefaces, vol. i.) Sleidan, De Statu Religionis Commentarius, lib. ii.
p. 53., et lib. iii. cap. 2. Pallavicini, Historia' Concilii Tridentini, torn. i.
lib. 4. cap. 20—27. Beausobre, Histoire de la Reformation, torn. ii. Hv. 3.
Mosheim,, Historia Ecclesiastica ; necnon I lupin, Historia, ubi supra.
Paulas Jovius, Historia sui Temporis, torn. i. Loscher, Acta et Docu-
menta, torn. iii. Gerdes, Historia Renovati Evangelii, torn. ii. Struvius,
Corpus Historia; Germanicse, period x. sect 4. § H- Scckendorf, Com-
mentarius Hist. Apol. p. 147, &c. Juncker, Vita Lutheri, p. 470. Gol-
dastus, Reichshandlungen, p. 105. Thuanus, Historia sui Temporis, lib. i.
Myconius, Historia Reformationis, cap. 10.

42 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

sponsibility of openly protecting him. In his reply, he
protested that he had never undertaken to defend either
the books or discourses of Luther ; that, if he had be-
sought his imperial majesty to suspend the execution of
the bull, his only motive was to avoid precipitation in a
matter of grave importance ; that the accused offered to
appear wherever he should be cited, simply on the un-
derstanding that he should have equitable judges. He
added, that the behaviour of the legates had been in-
discreet, and intimated that the partisans of the re-
former were to be managed rather than awed. But
could Luther be persuaded to visit Worms ? A safe-
conduct, indeed, might easily be procured from Charles;
but what had it availed to John Huss, in similar cir-
cumstances ? The time, however, was more favourable
than that of his Bohemian predecessor. His opinions
had supporters in every town and district of the empire,
while those of Huss were confined to a small despised
kingdom. Among the princes of the land, many, he
knew, openly or secretly favoured him ; and over those
who directed popular opinion, — over doctors, tutors,
clergy, and even monks, — he had influence. The learned
were generally favourable to him, because he was un-
derstood as the champion of the humanists against the
theologians * ; the clergy, who had always been enemies
to celibacy, hailed the dawning of a system which pro-
mised them wives — and which, by annihilating the
power of the hierarchy, would render them independent
of pope and council ; the monks hoped to escape from
a profession which they felt to be wearisome, and mix
once more in the world. Not only the elector Frederic,
but George duke of Saxony, and two powerful counts,
were favourably disposed to a reformation of abuses ;
and even of the ecclesiastical princes, two were not in-
disposed to it, though none appear to have meditated a
change in doctrine. These circumstances were ma-
turely weighed by Luther, who conditionally promised
that he would be present at the diet. It is evident,

* See the concluding pages of Vol. II.

MARTIN LUTHER. 43

that he would not trust solely to the emperor's word,
and that he required the sanction of the diet, or at least
of the more considerable members, to the instrument
he demanded. But at one time all his expectations
were nearly thwarted through the address of Aleandri.
The nuncio thought that, in a cause where the pope had
already decided, where condemnation had been pro-
nounced against both the writer and the works, a diet-
even the ecclesiastical princes, much less the laymen —
had no right of cognizance ; that the assumption of such
cognizance was a direct insult to the holy see ; that, as
the spiritual thunders had already been launched, all
that now remained was for the civil magistrates to ap-
ply the temporal penalties decreed against heresy by all
the Germanic codes, by the common law of Europe.
He therefore laboured to convince the diet that the
writings of Luther were levelled not merely at the dis-
cipline, but at the doctrines, of the church, and at all
government, temporal no less than spiritual. In an
oration of three hours, he contended that the writings of
Luther assailed the authority of general councils no less
than of the pope ; that, consequently, there could be no
supreme tribunal to decide in controversial points the
sense of Scripture, but where every man was permitted to
judge, there might be, and probably would be, as many
religions as heads ; that they denied the free will of
man, contending that good and evil were the result of
an unconquerable necessity, — a doctrine which must
open the door to vice, since, if there were no merit in vir-
tue, there could be no demerit in crime ; that they anni-
hilated the efficacy of the sacrament, by denying the
operation of grace ; that they abolished the sacerdotal
order, by empowering even women and children to
confer the sacraments, and to absolve from sin : that
they destroyed the obligation of human laws, under the
pretext of Christian liberty ; that they abrogated that
of vows, however solemnly taken ; that their natural
tendency was to plunge all government, all law, all so-
ciety, into complete anarchy. He concluded by de-

44 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

mantling an imperial edict, which should arrest the
course of the evil, and punish its authors.

Though there was some intolerance and much declam-
ation in this discourse, it made a deep impression on men
who, from their ignorance of scholastic subjects, had been
taught to believe that these opinions merely regarded
the manifold abuses of the church — the profligacy and
rapacity of the hierarchy, from the pope down to the
simplest monk. After some deliberation, all agreed, — for
the few who were of a contrary opinion, were forced to
join in the general expression — that the new heresy
should be suppressed without delay. The address of
the elector saved Luther. He observed, that before the
diet proceeded to condemnation, equity demanded that
the professor should be examined before it, to learn
•whether the propositions so justly censured, were or
were not his. Other princes supported the suggestion,
declaring that there was no legal proof of Luther's being
the author ; that if he were, some of his propositions
were universally admitted to be good ; and that it did
not become them to burn the truth at the same pile
with error. The proposal was disagreeable to the
nuncio, who observed, that what the pope had once de-
cided, could not be re-examined. He feared that the
paradoxes of Luther might make an impression on men
entirely ignorant of scholastic subtilties : probably, too,
he trembled for his own reputation ; for though his
learning and abilities were acknowledged to be respect-
able, the Wittemberg professor was said to be unrivalled
in disputation. But his opposition was fruitless : even
Charles declared that Luther should be heard, lest any
one might say that he had been condemned unfairly ;
but added, that he should not be suffered to dispute;
that two questions only should be asked him, — whether
he were the author of the obnoxious propositions ; and
if so, whether he would retract them. It was accord-
ingly resolved, that a safe-conduct should be sent him,
guaranteeing his security on the way to the diet, during

MARTIN LUTHER. 45

his stay, and his return. As had been previously con-
certed, his friends demanded that the instrument should
be signed, not only by Charles, but by the most power-
ful princes then assembled ; and thus it was expedited
to Wittemberg. On receiving it, Luther could not
hesitate to obey the citation. He knew, that if the em-
peror were inclined to follow the base example of Sigis-
mund, he had guarantees enough ; first in the sanction
of the princes, and next in the attachment of the inferior
nobles, the deputies, and the people, who hailed him as
a man destined to break the iron yoke of the hierarchy.

In April, 1521, he left Wittemberg in a magnificent
carriage, guarded by 100 horsemen, and even accom-
panied by the imperial herald, who was recently a dis-
ciple. As he proceeded, he preached from time to time,
with great vehemence, upon his favourite subjects of
attack. In so doing, he was violating the imperial
command ; but the universal homage he received, the
threats of vengeance which he hourly heard uttered
against all who should venture to injure a hair of his
head, emboldened him. His journey was a triumph ;
and in this respect was a striking contrast to that of the
nuncio, who, though in the suite of the emperor, had
reason to tremble for his life. As he approached Worms,
however, the apprehensions of Luther's friends were re-
newed by the intelligence that the pope had repeated the
censures of the church, and exhorted the civil power to
seize him wherever he might be. Of his escort, eight
horsemen only adhered to him. But his soul was un-
daunted : in his usual manner, he declared that he would
go to Worms if he had to meet as many devils as there
were tiles on the houses. Notwithstanding, however,
the intrepidity of his character, he well knew that on
the present occasion, at least, he encountered no great
danger. On reaching Worms, the influence and number
of those who exhorted him to be courageous, reminding
him of the divine promise, And ye shall be brought before
governors and kings for my sake ; but when they deliver
you up, take no thought how or what you shall speak}

46 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

gave him new confidence. On the 17th of April, he was
asked the two questions to which we have alluded, —
Whether he were the author of the books in which
the censurable properties appeared ? if so, whether he
would maintain or retract them ? To the first he replied
in the affirmative : the second, he begged time to an-
swer in such a manner as neither to contradict the
word of God, nor his own conscience. He had as-
suredly had time enough to consider the subject ; but
as there was a hope of his retractation, he was allowed
another day. During the interval, not a few of his
friends — and they spoke the sentiment of the nation in
general — exhorted him to sustain only what he had
written against the pope, and in every thing else con-
form to the doctrines of the church universal. This
proposal would effectually have led to the circum-
scription, perhaps to the annihilation, of the papal power
in Germany ; but Luther rejected it as unworthy of
a reformer. If the court of Rome was corrupt, equally
censurable were some of its doctrines ; and in combating
them by the authority of Scripture, he should be re-
bellious to that authority if he desisted from the war-
fare through fear of man. The following day he
appeared before the assembly, and to the second ques-
tion replied that his writings were of a diverse character ;
that, in some, he had treated only of Christian faith and
piety, in such manner that even his adversaries had
praised him ; and these could not gainsay, lest he should
deny the Gospel ; that in some he had exposed the in-
ventions of men, and the usurpation of popes, nor could
he revoke them without perpetuating a tyranny which
all men should conspire to destroy ; that in others,
which were levelled at the defenders of the pope, he
might have expressed himself in unbecoming language,
but he could not retract the substance through any
thing censurable in the manner ; that being a man, he
was liable to error, and would, if convicted by holy
writ, readily commit any portion, or the whole, of his
publications to the flames. Hence he retracted nothing ;

MARTIN LUTHER. 47

knowing that, by appealing to the authority of Scripture,
he should maintain his own consistency, and satisfy his
partisan. Such an appeal might safely be made. The
Bible he well knew to be the most mysterious book in
the universe ; that passages could be adduced to support
any article of faith ; and over an unlearned people, his
interpretation would have as much influence as that of his
adversaries. Yet though there appears throughout to have
been much of calculation in his conduct, let us by no
means insinuate that he was not sincerely impressed with
the truth of the doctrines he taught. Erroneous as
many of them were, the cause lay in his limited range of
reading, in his ignorance of the original languages of
Scripture — for of Hebrew he was wholly ignorant, and
was no critic in Greek — in his imperfect acquisition
•with the great commentators, especially with the apo-
stolic fathers.* But if his conviction was sincere, was
that any proof of its truth ? If he was right in op-
posing some of the Roman catholic tenets, was he equally
justifiable in assailing others, which have ever since
been admitted by the more enlightened portion of the
protestant world ? Nor did he consider whether the
motives which had led to his conviction were always of
the purest nature. In his personal antipathy to Rome,
•while smarting under the lash of his opponents, his
only object was to proceed as far as possible from the
beaten track of divinity : in this view alone did he pe-
ruse the Scriptures ; and we cannot wonder that such a
disposition should frequently find passages to gratify it ;
and that they should be so eagerly received, as to exclude
that calm, sober, unbiassed investigation, with which
every philosophic Christian, every honest enquirer after
truth, would approach the awfully mysterious records
of heaven. Of him it may be truly said, that in the
word of God he looked for his own passions, and

* Brucker (Historia Critica Philosophise, torn. i. part i. p. 94, &c.) has
endeavoured to exculpate Luther from ignorance of the scholastic philo-
sophy. He was certainly well acquainted with that of the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries ; but he knew little of what had preceded Aquinas.
He is much over-rated by Brucker, whose prejudices were all in his favour.

48 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

found them. — In the midst of his explanation, he was
interrupted by the vicar Eckius (not his old antagonist),
who told him that the diet had summoned him, not to
dispute, but to declare at once whether he would re,
tract or maintain the propositions which the head of the
church had condemned. His reply was the same, — that,
unless convicted of error by the Scriptures themselves,
he would steadfastly adhere to them ; that he placed no
reliance on the judgment of pope or council ; that both
were liable to error, and had in fact often erred ; that
his own belief, he was sure, was right, and should re-
main unchangeable. The following day, Charles com-
municated to the diet his sentiment on the matter before
it. As the descendant of princes who had always been
faithful to the Roman church, he should defend its
doctrines and constitution to the close of his life ; that
a simple monk ventured to oppose the faith which had
been received a thousand years before, and was re-
ceived then — to contend that he only was right, while
the rest of mankind were in error ; that he would em-
ploy his possessions, his influence, his life, if necessary,
to arrest the progress of this heresy ; and that he could
hear Luther no more, but dismiss him, and afterwards
treat him as a heretic. The imperial declaration was
approved by the majority ; but many there were, who
observed that such a proceeding would lead to a civil
war. Of this fact, the elector of Mentz and other princes
were sensible ; and in the hope of averting the cata-
strophe, they obtained from the emperor permission to
try what effect entreaty might have on a person who
was inaccessible to fear. This expedient equally failed :
Luther refused to submit his writings before any earthly
tribunal, or to retract a single proposition, unless shown
to be erroneous by the authority of Scripture. Well
might he be thus obstinate : critical as his position
was generally thought to be, he had already arranged
with the elector of Saxony the way in which his se-
curity should be preserved. Being commanded to
leave Worms, provided with an instrument which

MARTIN LUTHER. 49

guaranteed his security during twenty-one days, he
left on the 26'th of April; on his way he dismissed
the imperial herald ; and on entering a forest his car-
riage was suddenly stopped by a party of armed horse-
men in masks, who, causing him to mount, rode
rapidly with him to the solitary castle of Wartburg,
situated on the summit of a mountain a few leagues
from Eisenach. All this was done so secretly, that
nobody could discover the place of his retreat; and
to divert the minds of men from the pursuit, no less
than to bring odium on the Roman catholic party,
it was artfully promulgated that his enemies had car-
ried him away. In a month after his departure, by
an imperial edict, he was placed under the ban of the
empire ; he was to be seized wherever he might be, and
detained in prison until the emperor's pleasure were
known; and no less a doom than confiscation of
goods and imprisonment was denounced against all who
aided him, or embraced his opinions, or perused his
works, which every magistrate was commanded to seize
and burn.*

Severe as were the terms of the edict, it could not be 1521
enforced. The presence of Charles was demanded in to
Flanders and Spain ; the elector of Saxony, as imperial 15-^-
vicar, was resolved to spare the professor ; few of the
inferior dignitaries had any disposition to pursue him,
and those who had, were overawed by the voices of
multitudes, who breathed vengeance on any prince or
functionary that dared to molest him. Even of those
most attached to the Roman catholic faith, a majority
wished him well ; since they were ignorant of the tend-
ency of his doctrines, and looked to him only as a

* TaUavicini, Historia ConciUi Tridentini, lib. i. cap. 27, 28. Sleidan,
De Statu Religionis Comment, lib iii. Rayna'dus, Annales Ecclesiastici,
an. 1521. Petrus Anglerius, EpistoUe, ep. 722. Spalatinus, Annales, p. 6U6.
(apud Menckenium, Scriptores, tom.ii.). Acta Lutheri Wormatias,
habita (Opera Lutheri, torn. ii.). Seckendorf, Commentarius Historians de

VOL. III.

50 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

reformer who compelled the papal court to hear the
universal complaints of Europe. It has been supposed
that Charles himself was not sincere in his professions
to the Roman see ; that he wished not to destroy, but
to suffer Luther, as a very useful check on the conduct
of the pope. — From this Patmos, as he called the place
of his retreat, Luther soon convinced the world that he
was alive, by the furious treatises which he published
against his opponents, by the increased zeal with which
he defended the most obnoxious of his propositions.
In absurdity, as in violence, he far outstripped himself.
Probably, the unusual seclusion to which he was now
subjected, soured a temper which was never one of the
sweetest. He was heard to declare, that he would rather
be stretched on the gridiron than rot in such a horrible
solitude — than be buried before his time. His first
treatise was against a Dominican friar who maintained
the papal authority ; and none could be more charac-
teristic of the man ; but as it is a repetition, with in-
creased violence, of his former opinions, we need not notice
it. A subsequent treatise against auricular confession
was equally strong. Auricular confession is certainly
not of divine authority ; but as certainly it has been
a useful restraint on the passions of men. That it was,
however, abused during this period, and long before
this period, is indisputable. Satisfied with the observ-
ance of the penance enjoined by the priest, and un-
mindful of that inward contrition which gives confes-
sion all its value, the absolved sinner was not likely to
learn a stern morality ; he often indulged in a rash,
fatal presumption. On the other hand, there were
some whose consciences were too tender not to be in-
jured by it : fearful of having involuntarily retained
something that should have been disclosed, they con-
sequently distrusted the efficiency of the absolution,
and were led to despair. Others, again, through natural
delicacy, were afraid to confess their secret thoughts,
and committed the sacrilege of concealing them. Nor
was there unmixed innocence on the part of the priest

MARTIN LUTHER. 51

himself. If young, the confession of a certain frailty
by a woman of his own age, — of a frailty which
could not often withstand the assaults of opportunity,
— was most dangerous to his virtue. He, too, might
watch for a similar occasion. This is no hypothesis :
it has been proved by experience; and to remedy the
evil, the canons of several councils have decreed that no
ecclesiastic under a mature age should hear the confes-
sions of young virgins, or even wives. That canon,
indeed, has been suffered to fall into disuse, owing,
doubtless, to the difficulty, often to the impossibility,
of an aged priest being within the call of the penitent.
But the evil has, since Luther's time, been almost re-
moved by the custom of public confession. From his
grated recess, so small as merely to admit a chair, the
priest cannot see the penitent outside ; and though he
hear the whispering of her voice, he cannot possibly
know her, unless he is daily accustomed to its tones.*
But though, to the honour of the Roman catholic church
it must be confessed, that such instances of clerical de->
pravity have been exceedingly rare, even in the worst
times, — much more rare than even among the ministers
of the protestant church of England, — Luther had
some advantage in the argument ; and we can only con-
demn his uncharitable attempts to turn a very partial
into a common evil, and the unbecoming violence of
his manner. He did not wish to abolish auricular con-
fession, but only that it should not be obligatory, — a
recommendation intended to be followed by the church

* The discipline of the Roman catholic church in this country, in regard
to confession, is highly censurable. The youngest priesls have the majority
of penitents, even among virgins: and there is not the usual check of
confessionals in the interior wall of a church, where the kneeling peni-
tent is in sight of all present, pouring her ta'.e of contrition through the
gratings : with us, the penitent and the priest are generally alo-ie in the
same apartment. So far as regards correctness of conduct, we have a high
opinion of the Roman catholic clergy -, but euch a temptation should not
be thrown in their way. Are the bishops ignorant, cr are they careless, of
ancient canons? — canons which wisdom, as taught by experience, found it
necessary to devise. They must remove this evil, or they will have few
converts among protestants who are jealously alive to the honoiu of their
female connections. See, on this subject, Erasmus, Exouiologesis, seu
Modus Confitendi.

E 2

52 HISTORY OF TIIK GERMANIC EMPIRE.

of England, but for a century, at least, neglected and
even forgotten. — In other works, Luther assailed private
masses, prayers for the dead, monastic vows, clerical
celibacy, — and these with far better reason than attended
most of his controversial efforts. But in the midst of his
labours, a more formidable antagonist assailed him, —
the faculty of divinity, or the doctors of the Sorbonne at
Paris. His anger was the more vehement, as in the
dispute at Leipsic, held a few months before, he had
represented this society as the most enlightened and
liberal in Christendom, as the depositary of the true
doctrines of the church universal. One hundred and
four propositions, extracted from his works, were con-
demned as detestable errors in faith and morals ; as cal-
culated to deceive the simple ; as blasphemous against
the Holy Ghost ; as contrary to Scripture, to reason, and
to the interests of society. Luther did not immediately
reply to this censure, but he doubtless assisted Melanc-
thon, a much wiser and better man than himself, in the
composition of an apology ; and in a satire which he
wrote a short time afterwards, he displayed considerable
force of ridicule at the expense of these divines. They
were, in fact, open to ridicule : for their studies, often
of an useless, sometimes of a pernicious, character ; their
scholastic conceits, and assumed importance ; had ren-
dered them the pity of the wise, the reproach of the
good, the laughing-stock of the world. But, as usual,
he went to excess. Henceforth they were the most
ignorant of all men ; the most stupid of all asses, bears,
and idiots ; as criminal in their lives as they were
beastly in their manners. His writings had a wonderful
effect on the public mind. Those against the obligation
of monastic vows caused hundreds to quit the cloister,
to marry and mix with the wicked. In fact, a full
chapter of the Augustines in Lower Saxony, who were
always attached to Luther, and ranked among his earliest
con verts, formally permitted all that were dissatisfied with
the state to abandon it for ever. The conduct of these
monks did not much commend the step which they had

MARTIN LUTHER. 53

taken ; but it had necessarily imitators. The prospect of
enjoying, without restraint, all the pleasures of life, —
pleasures which, to an inexperienced fancy, appeared a
thousand times greater than in reality they were, — was
too alluring to be resisted. On reaching Wittemberg,
or Ulm, or Strasburg, or any other place where the
new doctrines were suffered to be taught, the monk had
only to ascend the pulpit and preach against his former
belief, — in praise of that Christian liberty which the
Apostle of divine truth had just proclaimed to a be-
nighted world, — and he had soon admirers who amply
administered to his necessities, and enabled him, since
" it was not good that man should be alone," to take a
help- mate, and soon to surround his table with half a
dozen flourishing vines. The same good fortune, in-
deed, could not happen to all, since the number of monks
thus relieved from thraldom was enough to supply all
the churches in Germany ; and in despair of procuring
a livelihood, not a few returned to the cloister. But
the progress of reform was not the less steady, until it
became resistless. Of this fact, no better illustration
can be found than in the proceedings at Wittemberg a
few months after Luther's retreat. ' The elector of
Saxony himself was now indisposed against private
masses, transubstantiation, and, probably, the worship
of images ; though his fear of compromising himself
with the emperor and pope made him averse to violent
measures. Presuming on his real sentiments, and anx-
ious to prove that he was no useless instrument in the
great work, Carlstadt resolved to convince the world,
that though Luther was absent, that work should not
suffer. To show his contempt for the priestly vow of
continence, he married ; and his example finding many
imitators, he proceeded to greater extremities. The
Augustine friars of Wittemberg had just abolished pri-
vate masses ; why might not the images be broken, the
altars overturned, a new liturgy formed, and every an-
cient observance replaced by modern rites ? Accompa-
nied by a band of reformers, he entered the magnificent
E 3

54 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

church of All Saints ; and the work of demolition was
commenced with such hearty good will, that in a short
time the place was strewn with wrecks of crucifixes,
shrines, images, altars, and consecrated vessels. The
attempt was hailed with acclamation. This intelligence
was communicated to Luther in his retreat ; and at the
same time he heard more, which affected him with
equal dismay. Carlstadt proceeded to still greater ex-
tremities. Conceiving that the doom pronounced on
Adam — In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread
— was obligatory on every descendant of our common
parent, he went to cultivate the fields a certain number
of hours daily. That any freak should enter the head
of such a madcap, will not surprise us ; but that he
should draw Melancthon into the same perverse appli-
cation of the text, is a mournful lesson. The next
exhibition was still more extraordinary. Contending
that the knowledge of divine truth was the only thing
necessary to man, and that the whole of this truth was
contained in holy Scripture, they wished that the Bible
should be the only book received into the university.
Had this barbarous notion, — a notion that had never
yet been defended in the darkest ages, — been admitted,
there would speedily have been an end of the reform-
ation. Hearing that the students of Wittemberg were
exhorted to burn the works of Aristotle and Plato, of
Cicero and Tacitus, of the philosophers and schoolmen ;
that Melancthon, the most devoted of his friends, was
daily working in a baker's shop ; and Carlstadt, the
earliest of his associates, was the daily companion of
peasants; that there were other heresies in doctrine
and anarchy in discipline ; Luther, who perceived that
his reformation was on the brink of ruin, resolved to
return. But how was the elector's permission to be
obtained ? To apply for it was hopeless ; and he left
the castle of Wartburg without so much as intimating
his purpose. On the way, however, he wrote to Fre-
deric a letter, extraordinary at once for its fanaticism
and boldness. Having deplored the excesses recently

MARTIN LUTHKB. 55

committed at Wittemberg, and declared his resolution
to end them, without relying on the favour, or dread-
ing the enmity, of any prince on earth, he distinctly
lays claim, not merely to a divine mission, but to mira-
culous influence. Duke George of Saxony (a kinsman
of the elector, distinguished for hostility to the new
doctrines) had, he said, persecuted the Gospel ; but he
feared not that prince, knowing, as he did, that a
single word of his would suffice to rid the world of
God's enemy. That he did not allude to the obvious
mode of assassination, but to the efficacy of his prayers,
is certain from other passages of the same letter. " I
write to your highness all this, to prove that I proceed
to Wittemberg under a protection infinitely more power-
ful than yours. I even wish that you should abandon
me : the cause which I embrace, needs not for its de-
fence the sword of princes ; God alone will defend it,
without human succour. You are weak in the faith,
and are not fit to be my protector." — " The emperor
cannot require so great a prince as you to take away
my life with your own hands ; but if he do, tell me ;
and, whether you believe me or not, learn that, for my
sake, your life, your soul, your welfare are secure."
Leaving the reader to make his own reflections on a
letter so extraordinary, we proceed to relate that Luther
soon arrived at Wittemberg, where, ascending the pulpit,
he declaimed furiously against the pious archdeacon Carl-
stadt, who dared not utter one word in reply. As many
of the reformers, and as he himself, inwardly approved
the motive of the sacrilege, he could only condemn the
time and manner. The same thing, he observed, might
be laudable in some circumstances, and censurable in
others. The real cause of his reproof was his jealousy
lest any of his disciples should presume to encroach on
an authority which he represented as divine, and which
in its virtual exercise was not inferior to the papal. Of
this fact no doubt will be entertained, when we observe
that, immediately afterwards, the very reforms which
C'arlstadt was thus assailed for attempting, were carried
£ 4

56' HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

into effect by the senate of the university, with the consent,
however reluctantly obtained, of the elector : — not that
Frederic did not oppose many of them ; but there were
others which, being of an indifferent nature, might have
been tolerated, since policy required that the breach
between the two parties should not be unnecessarily
widened. But this jealousy is acknowledged even by
Luther, in one of his epistles : — " Ille (Carlstadt) cu-
piebat fieri subito novus magister, et suas ordinationes in
populo, pressa auctoritate mea, erigere." And it is ad-
mitted by Beausobre, one of the least scrupulous histo-
rians of the reformation : — " II paroit par ses propres
lettres, que la jalousie eut part a cette action, et que Luther
ne put souffrir qu'un autre lui disputat la gloire qu'il
s'etoit acquise." But Carlstadt was not to gain wisdom
by experience : as great a fanatic as Luther, and equally
eager to acquire an enduring name, he resolved to act
a separate part. In this view he opposed the favourite
tenet of Luther on the real presence ; contending, that
after consecration nothing but bread and wine remained;
that Christ was not present in the sacrament, which
was merely a rite instituted to perpetuate the re-
membrance of our Saviour's last supper. But such
was the hostility he encountered from Luther, that he
was compelled to leave Wittemberg. The first place
of his retreat was a town of Thuringia, where, being
no longer awed by the presence of a superior, he gave
a free rein to his fancies. Among his favourite tenets,
was the natural equality of mankind ; that the dis-
tinctions in the social state were tyranny; that laws
and magistrates were worse than useless ; that the
Christian owed subjection to no man, but only to the law
of God. In this respect he favoured the anabaptists,
of whom we shall hereafter have occasion to speak.
But he excited Luther's indignation by calling him a
vain and sensual man, a flatterer of princes, and some-
thing too of an idolater, since he retained the real pre-
sence, and a service very similar to the mass. According
to this heated partisan, the degree of orthodoxy, no less
than of virtue, depended on the comparative zeal with

MARTIN LUTHER. 57

which he assailed the Romish church. Luther had
assailed it in many things ; but as he had not opposed
it in all, he was merely in the rudiments of the Gospel.
His discourses were well calculated to impress the
vulgar ; and commotions followed, considerable enough
to attract the attention of the elector, who despatched
Luther to assuage them. On his way, the latter
preached at Jena, in presence of Carlstadt, whom he
designated as a worker of sedition. After {he sermon
he was visited at his hostel, — the Black Boar, which has
obtained great celebrity from this circumstance, — by the
archdeacon. Carlstadt, after attempting to justify him
self in regard to the sedition, declared that he could no
longer support the doctrines of Luther on the real pre-
sence. " In that case," observed the other with much
disdain, " why not write against me ? " The archdeacon
replied that he would. " Do so," rejoined Luther, " and
I will give thee a florin in gold," which at the same mo-
ment he drew from a purse : Carlstadt took the florin,
and they two shook hands as a pledge that they would
sustain the contest with vigour. The former, filling a
glass of beer, drank to the precious work which his
disciple was about to compose : the latter returned the
compliment. War being thus declared in the manner
of the country, the combatants bade adieu to each other.
" May I see thee broken on the wheel ! " were the last
words of the disciple : " Mayst thou break thy neck
in this very town !" was the retort of the master. But
much as Luther had boasted that a denunciation of his
could not fail to be ratified in heaven ; that with a
word he could kill the most formidable of his oppo-
nents— princes, and even emperors ; Carlstadt continued
to live and defy him, and at last died in his bed — unless,
indeed, we believe with some pious Roman catholics,
that the devil fetched him bodily away. In reality,
Carlstadt was near being a prophet ; for he incited
the people of Orlemund to receive the professor with
stones and mud, nor did the latter escape without dif-
Sculty. In revenge, Luther prevailed on the elector

58 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

to banish the rebel from Saxony ; but the latter found
an asylum with Zwingle in Switzerland.*
1522 During these transactions, Luther was actively ex-
to ercising the pen in behalf of the reformation. After
' his return to Wittemberg from his Patmos, one of his
first works was, Against the Order falsely called the Order
of Bishops. In it he declares that bishops are not of
divine authority ; that they are the destroyers of
Christian liberty ; that they are ignorant, immoral, and
beastly ; that in future he will have no respect for them,
nor recognise their jurisdiction, since, as being called
by Christ to be an evangelist, his is superior to it;
that he will not submit his doctrine to men, nor even
to angels, but by it he will judge both bishops and
angels. Bishops, he observes, are the true ministers
of Satan, from whom they receive their mission ;
it is the duty of all men to throw off their juris-
diction ; and the man who should sacrifice his reputa-
tion, fortune, or life, to subvert the episcopal government,
is in truth a child of God. Cathedrals and collegiate
churches were, he affirmed, as much the gates of hell as
monasteries themselves. — On perusing these and similar
passages, with which the writings of Luther are filled,
and which are more nearly allied to frenzy than religion,
it is impossible to avoid enquiring — How came this man
to be a favourite with the divines of the English church ?
Can they be acquainted with his writings ? Equally
characteristic was his reply to the celebrated treatise of
our Henry VIII., in defence of the Seven Sacraments.
Never were terms of abuse more lavishly applied : fool
and ass, blasphemer and liar, even pig and devil, are among
the most common ; and some there are which we shall
not transfer even in the original to these pages. His
brutality in both works gave much offence to most

•Authorities: — Seckendorf, Commentarius Historicus ; Sleidan, De
Statu Religionis ; Lutheri Opera ; Melaiicthoni Epistole ; Beausobre,
Histoire de la Reformation ; Raynalrtus, Annales Ecclesiastic! ; Palla-
vicini, Historia Concilii Tridentini ; Dupin and Mosheim, Historia Ecrle-
siastica ; Maimbourg, Histoire du Luthranisme ; Struvius, Corpus HU-
torise ; Guiccardini, Istoria ; Spalatinus, Annales Reformationis ; Pautus
Jovius ; Historia Chrytraeus, Saxonia ; Loscher, Acta et Documenta ;
Burmannus, Adrianus VI. ; Loscher, Historia Motuum inter l-utheranos
et Keformatos; Ziegler, Historia Clementis VII. ; with many others.

MARTIN LUTHER. 5

persons, whether secular or ecclesiastical ; and it filled
his own disciples with dismay. Hence Melancthon
observed, that unless the special providence of God in-
tervened, the good work would be stifled in its birth.
Henry complained of the affront to the Saxon princes ;
but except from duke George, who detested both the re-
former and his efforts, he received only civil excuses.
The majority of German princes endeavoured to silence
the daring polemic ; but so unbounded was his in-
fluence over the populace and the inferior nobles, that
open violence was impossible. That influence he
greatly extended, by publishing in the vernacular tongue
a version of the Scriptures. Before his time, there were
no fewer than four versions, or at least editions, in
German ; but the style was wretched, the translation
ill executed, and worse printed ; and we need not
wonder that it was in the hands of few. Luther appears
to have commenced his gigantic task during his retreat
to his Patmos ; there he pursued it with characteristic
ardour ; and on his return to Wittemberg, being as-
sisted by Melancthon and other scholars, he was soon
able to finish the New Testament. To Melancthon he
was especially indebted. His knowledge of Greek and
Hebrew was, as before intimated, very limited ; and
without the aid of others he could not possibly have
completed the translation. It appeared at the close of
1522, and that of the Old Testament some years after-
wards. By protestants, it has been extolled to the skies
as a model of fidelity and elegance : by Roman ca-
tholics, who admit its elegance, it has been stigmatised
as unfaithful, as converted into a vehicle to convey the
peculiar opinions of the writer. As we have not ex-
amined the merits of the question, we will not be so rash
as to offer any opinion on it : but we may observe that,
from his imperfect acquaintance with the original
tongues, he was not very likely to execute his task to the
satisfaction of the critic ; and that, from his limited ac-
quaintance with the fathers, with Hebrew, Greek, and
Roman antiquities, he could not be a good anno-

60 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

tator. Nor, protestants as we are, do we think that an
unlearned reader can attain an accurate knowledge of
Christianity from the Scriptures alone. On all hands
it is admitted that the Bible is a mysterious book, —
by none so readily as by men of the greatest erudition.
That from its perusal, the illiterate should be able to
decide a question which divided the most learned and
able, was preposterous ; but their pride was flattered
by the present : they were unexpectedly made to judge
popes and bishops, and they rejoiced in their new
liberty. Every body purchased the translation ; every
body learned to dispute on the most recondite doc-
trines of Christianity : even women entered the lists
with the most learned divines ; contending that all who
disputed the fidelity of Luther's translation, were ac-
tuated by envy, that he alone had a true understanding
of God's^word. In a country nearer than Germany,
and in times much more recent than those before us, we
have all seen the same lamentable infatuation ; where the
learned and the studious, with the accumulated wisdom
of agesj and whose lives had been passed in the pursuit,
feared to speak ; yet where the illiterate mechanic,
whose time was wholly occupied with providing for the
wants of the day, hesitated not to decide — and that, too,
in questions that even the inspired writers approached
with awe. The translation of Luther had many op-
ponents, among whom was Eraser, a doctor of Leipsic,
who professes to indicate above fourteen hundred in-
accuracies in it ; but as his only, or at least chief,
guide was the Vulgate, his authority will not have much
weight with most biblical critics. To counteract the
mischievous tendency of what he regarded as the wilful
perversions of Scripture by the Wittemberg professor,
he executed a new translation, every way conformable
with the Vulgate, the standard of orthodoxy with readers
of his own communion. But if Luther's version had
possessed no other recommendation than the elegance of
its language, it would have maintained its superiority ;
but from the boldness of its notes, and from the adapt-

MARTIN LUTHER. 6l

ation of the text to his opinions, it was eagerly sought,
while that of his rival was confined to a few of the
more zealous papists. Many catholic princes, however,
secular no less than ecclesiastical, published edicts for-
bidding, under severe penalties, the use of the former
translation, and ordering it to be every where burnt.
It was now the turn of the secular princes to feel the
lash of his resentment. In his treatise on the Secular
Power, though he does not oppose its existence, he re-
gards it as an encroachment on the natural liberty of
man ; as formed only to keep the wicked in order, but
a scourge to the Gospellers ; as in itself an evil, and
therefore an object of odium, however its necessity may
be admitted in a vicious state of society. But even
while constrained to acknowledge that the institution is
indispensable, he does not spare the persons. He de-
clares that, from the beginning of the world, all princes
have been not merely tyrannical, but impious, opposed to
God and the saints ; and that a pious prince is something
miraculous. He concludes with a severe lecture to all
rulers, to fulfil the laws of God, and to leave opinions
unpunished ; since they had no jurisdiction over these,
not even over heresy. In short, we can easily perceive
that he had adopted the opinions of Wickliffe concern-
ing civil government *, though, from his position in re-
gard to the dukes of Saxony, he was compelled to
modify his expressions. The hopes which he held out
to all, and which to a certain extent were daily realised,
of participating in the confiscated property of the dis-
solved monasteries, prevailed on many others to over-
look the wild fanaticism of certain opinions. In fact,
he formally proposed to the princes of Germany the
immediate destruction of all religious communities,
even of all bishoprics and collegiate chapters ; the re-
venues to remain in their own hands, to be appropriated,
if judged expedient, to the foundation of secular prin-
cipalities. A proposal so iniquitous had never before

* See Europe during the Middle Ages, voL iv.

62 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

been made to the world ; but it was too well adapted
to human nature not to be eagerly received. To colour
its detestable character, a suggestion was, indeed, made,
that the revenues of the mendicant orders should be
applied to the foundation of schools ; but this was
merely a delusion, and such it was considered by those
to whom it was addressed: they eagerly seized the
lands, houses, and revenues ; but scarcely one among
them showed any disposition to provide for the diffusion
of learning. With this fact before us, can we be sur-
prised at the rapidity with which the reformation was
embraced by the princes not only of Germany, but of
Northern Europe, — of Denmark and Sweden ? That
reformation was, as we have before shown, no less
adapted to the people. The country curate, who was
unknown beyond the precincts of his village ; the friar,
who had hitherto vegetated in the obscurity of his con-
vent, — saw the way to riches ; and celebrity suddenly
opened before them. They had only to ascend their
pulpits, to display the new light which had lately burst
upon them, to declaim against the wealth of the clergy
and the tyranny of the popes, and they were imme-
diately followed by crowds of disciples, whose gratitude
supplied their wants, and whose approbation secured to
them importance in the new church.* More still were
allured by the hope of marriage ; nor was this induce-
ment lost on the nuns, of whom nine, in 1524, returned
to their kindred ; and the example was soon followed
by others. Most of them, in fact, had no other alter-
native, after the secularisation of their communities.
To the religious, whether male or female, thus expelled,
a small pension was at first assigned ; but in a few
months, sometimes in a few weeks, it was discontinued,
and they were left to the precarious bounty of their
relatives, or to the charity of the world. In such
circumstances, can we wonder that the men became
Lutherans, and that the women married ? t

* Lingard'g England, reign of Henry VIIL
f Chiefly the same authorities.

ZWINGLE. 63

The translation of Luther did more harm to his 1523
cause than the most active hostility of his enemies. *°
From perusing the Scriptures, many of his partisans "
began to perceive in them a meaning different from that
which he had established as the only true one. Hence
the number of sects into which the reformers were soon
divided. We have already spoken of Carlstadt, who
•was the first to oppose the tenet of the real presence
defended by his master. But doubts of this prodigious
mystery had also agitated the mind of Zwingle, pastor
of Zurich : by his own partisans, indeed, he is said to
have anticipated even Luther in the career of reform-
ation ; and for this reason, neither he nor they would
consent to be called Lutherans. To this honour, how-
ever, he has little claim ; for while Luther commenced
as early as 151 6 to assail the papal power, Zwingle
did not appear on the stage of the reformation until
1523 : he might, indeed, have had his private senti-
ments on certain subjects at an earlier period ; but of
their existence we have no satisfactory proof before the
Wittemberg professor began to surprise the world.
From 1506, when he entered into holy orders, to 1518,
when he was called to Zurich, we do not read that he
distinguished himself by any opposition to the Roman
catholic religion. Like other conscientious men, in-
deed, he condemned the conduct of the Roman court,
and the corruption of the clergy ; but that he had yet
his opinions to form respecting controverted subjects,
appears from the method of preaching which he
adopted immediately after his arrival at Zurich. He
announced his resolution to forsake the custom of select-
ing from the Gospel of the day, the text of his discourse ;
and of following the example of the fathers, by ex-
plaining whole books in succession ; declaring at the
same time that he would have no other guide in his in-
terpretation than Scripture itself. This last circum-
stance does not speak much for his learning or his
judgment. He ought to have known that a book so
mysterious as Scripture requires, for its comprehension,

64,

HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

all the aid which can be brought to it ; and that the
nearer we approach the apostolic times, the more likely
are we to find divines capable of acquainting us with
its true import. When reminded of this obvious fact,
he alleged the examples of Chrysostom and Augustine,
— a reply for which he is praised by his sectarian bio-
graphers ; but both he and they forgot to tell us, that
these two saints were profoundly versed in ecclesiastical
antiquity, and that they lived at a time when divine
truth was not so much perverted as in the sixteenth
century. He commenced with the Gospel of St.
Matthew, — another error of calculation ; for tf, as
every one knows, the New is based on the Old
Testament, common reason would have led him to
begin with the foundation. But in his time, as in
others which we shall not mention, there existed, if not
contempt, certainly much indifference for the older canon
of Scripture. The integrity of his life, however, no less
than the fervour of his zeal, compensated in a great
degree for some erroneous opinions ; while in others
he has the praise of having contributed 10 purge the
church from superstition. Whether he entertained any
doubt of the real presence prior to his connection with
Carlstadt, may, perhaps, be doubted, — unless, in-
deed, CEcolampadius, who joined him about this time,
led him to reject that dogma. What is certain is, that,
from the preaching of Luther, both renounced transub-
stantiation ; and that not satisfied with his half- reform,
they denied that the words of our Saviour, This is my
body, were to be literally understood. On these words,
CEcolampadius wrote a treatise of considerable merit,
which, though assailed by the Roman catholic divines,
effected many conversions. So great was the sensation
produced in Zurich by this and other writings, by the
zealous preaching of Zwingle, and by the success of
Luther, that, in 1523, a religious conference was or-
dained by the senate of Zurich. Many ecclesiastics
of the canton, with deputies from the bishop of Con-
stance, were present, — some through curiosity, some

ZWINGLE. 65

in the resolution of supporting the reformer, others in
the hope of effecting a union between the two parties.
That his doctrine might be the more easily understood,
he divided it into sixty-seven propositions, which in
the main corresponded with those of Luther, differing
only in regard to the Lord's supper and some minor
points. It did not, however, embrace the whole system
of Zwingle, who forbore to commit himself on some
subjects, the promulgation of which he left to time ; or,
perhaps, he had not yet matured his views in regard
to them. He was neither zealously nor ably opposed ;
nor, had he been so, would this have availed much with
an audience already prejudiced in his favour. We
need not, therefore, be surprised that the victory was
awarded to him ; and that, by public decree, not only
was he encouraged to persevere in his preaching, but it
was distinctly intimated that no other doctrine would
be tolerated. With this success the reformer was not
satisfied. In a subsequent conference, he prevailed on
the senate to decree that images and relics should be
removed from churches ; that there should be no public
processions of the holy sacrament ; that there should be
no organs, no bells, no palm-branches, no private con-
fession, no extreme unction. The other Swiss cantons
did not approve of these innovations, and by a counter
decree endeavoured to arrest their progress ; but though
they preserved for a time the appearance of outward
uniformity, they could not prevent the spread of opi-
nions, some of which were so flattering to human in-
dulgence, others so consonant with the common reason
of men. Still the people of Zurich were dissatisfied :
they had removed many superstitious observances, but
others remained to reproach them with their luke-
warm zeal, or rather with their sacrifice of con-
science to expediency. A third conference (1525),
consisting almost wholly of reformers, suggested that
the mass should be for ever abolished, and the senate
immediately passed a decree to that effect. Thus was
the reformed religion established in one of the most

VOL. III. P

IIISTOIVS OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

important of the cantons ; and it rapidly spread through
many of the rest, though it was not for some time the
state religion. It first made its way unnoticed ; no
sooner were its proselytes increased, than they petitioned
for liberty of public worship ; and when this was ob-
tained, they abolished the rival faith. Religious in-
tolerance would seem natural to man ; assuredly it has
disgraced Lutherans, Zwinglians, and other sects, as
much as the church of Rome itself; and that, towards
not only the Roman catholics, but one another. No
sooner did Luther hear of the tenet of Zwingle respect-
ing the Lord's supper, than he denounced the new
reformation as the offspring of the devil. Zwingle, he
said, was a pagan and a blasphemer, a liar and an ass.
But the Swiss preacher denied original sin no less than
the real presence ; and for this he was censured by every
enlightened theologian, protestant or Roman catholic.
As a natural consequence of this belief, he also denied
the efficacy of baptism. It could not, he said, remove
sin, since Adam's transgression occasioned none : and
it could not confer grace ; for where was the need
of grace, where, as in infants, sin was not innate ?
The truth is, that though he received — as, indeed, he
was compelled to receive, unless he renounced his
profession as a Christian — the doctrine of Christ's
satisfaction, in most other things he regarded the
Christian faith as little superior to paganism : nor did
he scruple to assert that the pagans had the same
chance of heaven as Christians ; that with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, were Socrates, Aristides, Scipio,
Cato — nay, even Numa, Theseus, and Hercules. Here
Luther had the advantage ; as, indeed, he had in many
other disputes : but we may doubt whether zeal for the
truth, so much as indignation at seeing so large a portion
of his spiritual empire escape him, — for the figurative
explication of the sacrament by Zwingle and (Ecolam-
padius was soon received by Strasburg, Ulm, Magde-
burg, Meiningen, Lindau, Constance, and many other
cities, — drew him into the field. Of 'this fact we

THE ANABAPTISTS. 07

need no other proof than the violence of his language.
Though a good logician, and prompt at controversy, he
sometimes felt that the very principles he had defended
were against him. In his quarrels with the Roman
catholics, he had contended that the Scriptures alone
were a sure guide to salvation, and that the right of
private interpretation was divine : he could not, there-
fore, refuse to others who assailed his tenets the right of
disproving them by the same test. As, in his own
opinion, he was infallible, he could only insist that his
own interpretation was the true one ; that he was
taught by the Holy Spirit, which cannot err ; and that
all who opposed him were very devils. Though he
broadly asserted, that during a thousand years nobody
had so well understood, or so well explained the Scrip-
ture as himself; though he declared that his powers,
or at least his favour with Heaven, were miraculous,
since a prayer of his would alone suffice to destroy the
most puissant sovereigns — his authority was derided*
He was called an idolater, because he acknowledged
the real presence in the sacrament ; and a courtier, be-
cause he lived on terms of intimacy with princes.*

But the sect which most annoyed Luther was that of 1521
the anabaptists, who, though he execrated them, were
his legitimate offspring. A draper of Zwicknau in
Misnia, Nicolas Stork, was one of the most zealous
of his partisans. Whether he had much learning,
may be much doubted ; but that he was not without
ingenuity, however perverse, is evident from his reason-
ing. Assuming the favourite tenet of the reformers,
that justification is of faith alone, and that the sacra-
ments have no inherent virtue, he drew from these pre-

* Maimbourg, Histoire du Calvinisme, liv. i. Dupin, Historia Eccle-
siastica, cent. xvi. lib. 11. cap. 16. Pallavicini, Hist. ConciL Trid. lib. ii.
cap. 12. Beausobre, Histoire de la Reformation, torn. iii. and iv. Sleidan,
De Statu Religionis Com. lib. 3. Mosheim, Historia Ecclesiastica, cent xvi.
sect. 1. Spalatinus, Annales, p. 610, &c. Bos«uet, Histoire des Variations,
torn. i. Plouquet, Uictionnaire des Heresies, art. Carlstadl, Zwingle.
Schmidt, Histoire des Allemands, torn. vi. liv. 8. Spalatinus, Annales
Reformationis (sub annis). Struvius, Corpus Histori-e, pars x. sect. 4.
Loscher, Historia Motuum inter Lutheranos et Reformatos, pars i. lib. 2.
Hospinianus, Historia (sub annis).

F 2

68 HISTORY OF Till: GERMANIC EMPIRE.

mises the inevitable inference that the baptism of infants
•was useless, since no infant could have the faith ne-
cessary for the pardon of sin : hence, the necessity of
rebaptising those who were arrived at years of reason,
who were able by faith to apply to themselves the
merits of Jesus Christ. This reasoning he supported
by appealing to Scripture, in proof of his assertion that
neither our Saviour nor the apostles ever baptised an
infant. Infant baptism, therefore, was contrary to rea-
son and to Scripture — an invention purely human, and
resting on no other authority than that which introduced
the abominations of the mass. Again, Luther had as-
serted that Scripture alone is the rule of faith ; and that
this rule must be understood, not by the help of learn-
ing or reason, of the fathers and philosophers, but by
the aid of God's spirit, which is the only true inter-
preter, and which all who seek it may assuredly obtain.
Hence, as the great doctrines and duties necessary to
salvation were only to be learned from the secret com-
munications of that spirit, there was an end to all the
pretensions of the learned, to all the exercises of reason,
to all the comments of divines ; and the Bible became a
book hermetically sealed to human wisdom, and even
to human goodness. Thirdly, Luther had denied the
peculiar character of the priesthood, which he repre-
sented as a purely human institution ; and contended,
that every woman, every child, had the power to ad-
minister the sacraments and pronounce absolution. The
legitimate inference from this doctrine was, that every
man, every woman, was authorised to perform the sa-
cerdotal functions , that no previous qualifications were
required ; that the Holy Spirit was always at hand to in-
spire the speaker. Fourthly, If the Gospel made all free,
— as the Wittemberg professor had so strenuously asserted
in his treatise on Christian liberty, — why the tyranny of
magistrates and of laws ? The regenerate required no
other law than the word of God — no other guide than
His spirit explaining that word. If church government
was the invention of Satan, civil government was no less

THE ANABAPTISTS. 69

repugnant to the will of God ; for the moment we are
united in Him, from that moment we are brethren of
Christ., the heirs of a celestial crown, destined to sit on
the same throne with him who has redeemed us. To
enthral those whom God had thus made free, whom he
had admitted to a constant communion with him, was
the blackest impiety. From the same doctrine, and
from the example of the apostles, as contained in their
Acts, it was evident that, as all things in this world
belong to God, so all men, as coheirs of Christ, as in an
equal degree the sons of God, have an equal right to
these worldly things : hence they ought to be in com-
mon, and administered for the common benefit. Luther
had touched on this dangerous subject ; and though his
words were cautious, they evidently contributed to dif-
fuse its knowledge among the reformers. It had also
been propounded by Wycliffe*, and, with the other
propositions of that rash man, carried into Bohemia, t
As error is more fruitful than truth, this doctrine imme-
diately assumed a formidable shape. Regarding Luther
as half a reformer, as adhering to the letter which kills,
not to the spirit which vivifies, Stork and his disciple
Muntzer began to proclaim the approach of a new mon-
archy, where the faithful, after exterminating all enemies
— that is, all who were not anabaptists — should reign
conjointly. This doctrine of natural equality, this in-
dependence of all laws and all magistrates, this common
right to all things created for the use of man, was ex-
ceedingly agreeable to the poor, and consequently to the
great majority of the people. To the peasantry especially,
who were still ground to the earth by feudal exactions
and by the tyranny of the noble and the rich, it was so
attractive, that the sect prodigiously increased. Neither
Stork nor Muntzer omitted any means of adding to its
numbers ; twelve apostles and seventy-two disciples
were dispatched to rouse the people to a sense of their
religious privileges. In Swabia, Thuringia, and Fran-

* See Europe during the Middle Ages, vol. iv. p. 273,
t See the present work, Vol. II. p. 228.

p 3

70 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

conia, the new doctrine was generally diffused : all
whose imaginations were weak, were easily led to mis-
take their own fancies for the inspiration of heaven ;
all who hated the pope, were not averse to see him as-
sailed by a new enemy ; all, especially, who felt that
their condition in life was wretched, who had groaned
under the lash of oppression, looked forward to a speedy
emancipation. Of Stork we hear little ; when some of
his disciples were imprisoned by the duke of Saxony,
he hastened with two associates to Wittemberg, ap-
parently with the view of obtaining the support of the
duke. Nothing can be more humiliating to the reform-
ation, than the fact that both Carlstadt and Melanc-
thon lent a favourable ear to these madmen : their
enthusiasm seemed inspiration — their renunciation of all
human knowledge, and their constant communion with
heaven, to be clearly seraphic. In a letter to the duke,
Melancthon acknowledged that he was much impressed
with the astonishing revelations of the three prophets ;
that he saw reason not to despise them ; that there was
a possibility, however, of Satanic illusion j and that he
wanted the presence of Luther, then absent, to judge
of the credit due to them. The elector, who had a
portion of common sense denied to some of the evan-
gelical ministers, condemned the new doctrines, and
forbade them to be preached; and Luther, from his
retirement, equally denounced them. On this subject
Martin reasoned well. To prove, he observed, the
spirit of a ministry extraordinary and miraculous, de-
manded miraculous gifts ; that, as it could not be in-
telligible without an. especial revelation, it should be
regarded as an illusion of the devil. But he forgot that
most of the principles in the new sect were legitimate
deductions from his own ; and as he could never bear
a rival, he was indignant that his authority as a re-
former should either be disputed or divided. This
jealousy, more than any other cause, hastened his return
to Wittemberg.* With two of the anabaptist chiefs,

•Seepage 54. of the present volume.

THE ANABAPTISTS. 71

Cellarius and Stubner, he was persuaded to have an in-
terview in the presence of Melancthon. Having lis-
tened with more patience than he generally showed, to
the grounds on which they pretended to base their
belief, he quietly exhorted them to renounce it, as vain
in itself, and supported by no scriptural warrant. One
of the chiefs instantly called him a blasphemer, for thus
treating as fools the chosen vessels of God. The other,
who had more command of temper, replied, that he
could prove the reality of his revelations by a miracle ;
that he could read the very thoughts of Luther, who
was at this moment beginning to favour the new doc-
trine. The latter, however, declared, that what was then
passing in his mind was very different from his alleged
inclination to the anabaptist creed, — that it was, " God
confound thee, Satan." He now expelled them from
the house and the city amidst their hearty curses. From
Kenberg, they repeated the maledictions in a letter to
the reformer, and then dispersed on their apostolic mis-
sion. Of Stork we hear no more than that he was
reported to have died in a monastery of Bavaria, — a
presumption that he returned to sounder thoughts. Of
Stubner we are equally uninformed ; but probably he
continued, with his usual activity, to urge the peasants
into rebellion, and perished with them. Cellarius is
believed to have recanted ; but Muntzer remained as in-
corrigible as before. In 1523, he was again driven
from Alstadt in Thuringia ; but leaving many of his
disciples to continue the work, he proceeded to Switzer-
land, where he had great success ; but the firmness of
the magistracy, aided by the influence of Zwingle, pre-
vented an open insurrection. Yet it was sufficient for
his purpose, that he and his disciples, who were spread
in most parts of Germany, were successfully preparing
the minds of the people for a general revolt. At Nurem-
berg, the populace expressed their determination to rise ;
but as he was persuaded or forced by the magistrates
to leave the place, this calamity was for the present
averted. He now fixed his quarters at Mulhausen,
F 4

72 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

where the magistrates endeavoured to silence him ; but
his influence was such that he procured their deposition,
and the election of others devoted to his will, of whom
he was at first a member, and soon the acknowledged
head. To see this draper one day preside in the court
of justice, and decide the cases brought before him, not
by any code of law, but by his own caprice, or, as he
chose to call it, by special revelation ; and another day
preaching to the assembled inhabitants, and deluding
them with the prospect of a new monarchy, which
should consist only of the righteous ; was as novel as it
was extraordinary. As a civil governor, he was im-
plicitly obeyed : in fact, he ruled with a despotism un-
known since the days of the Jewish kings, whom he en-
deavoured to imitate. As a preacher, he declaimed
furiously against Luther, whom he stigmatised as a
debauchee, as a false prophet, as possessed by a demon,
as foretold by the prophet Daniel under the figures of
a serpent, dragon, lion ; in short, there was no term of
reproach which he did not heap on " this impudent,
lying, monk." In revenge, Luther called on the German
princes, the reformed no less than the Roman catholic,
to exterminate this daring impostor and his accomplices.
It was, indeed, time to stem the torrent. As well to
show his dislike to the Roman church, as to satisfy his
avarice, Muntzer caused the churches and monasteries
to be plundered, the inmates to be driven into the
world, and the buildings to be set on fire. By his let-
ters, he invited the peasantry of Swabia, Franconia,
Thuringia, Saxony, and other provinces, to rise as one
man, and for ever destroy the yoke, both temporal and
spiritual, under which they had so long groaned. Of
the manner in which he invited the poor to rebellion,
we have some specimens. In his letter to the miners
of Mansfeld, he asks how long they intended to resist
the Lord by their culpable inactivity ; he exhorted them
to arise, to put their whole confidence in God, to arm
in defence of their rights, to receive with gratitude the
expression of the divine will, of which he was the

THE ANABAPTISTS. 73

favoured medium. France, Italy, and England were,
he said, in arms ; so also were 300,000 peasants in
Upper Germany ; whose number increased daily. The
object of this mendacity needs no comment : and to
inspire the poor dupes with still greater courage, he
assured them that every one of them, if bold and con-
fident in God, would be sufficient to withstand 100,000
of the enemy ; that all Europe trembled before them.
Above all, he cautioned them not to make peace, for the
victory would certainly be theirs. And they were to
show no mercy to the vanquished ; to steel their hearts
against prayers and tears ; for to them, as he had dis-
tinctly learned by revelation, was confided a mission
similar to that of the Israelites against the Canaanites :
to exterminate was their first duty. In other letters,
and in his frequent discourses to the admiring mul-
titudes, he expatiated with considerable eloquence on
the miseries they now endured, on the fulfilment of the
promises which were made to them, on the happiness
of the glorious kingdom which was at hand. From
that moment he exhorted them to refuse their accus-
tomed tributes to the state, their rents to the land-
owners, their dues to the church ; he urged them to
destroy every human dignity, to bring their substance to
one common heap, and leave to him the administration.
— Can we be surprised that such exhortations had their
effect ; that in several provinces the peasantry flew to
arms, and under their fanatical leaders, the apostles of
Muntzer, commenced a terrific career of spoliation,
bloodshed, and ruin? The first who openly threw off
the yoke were the inhabitants of Lupfen in Swabia;
and the example spread with so much rapidity, that
120,000 were immediately under arms in the neigh-
bouring provinces. Had the discipline of these enthu-
siasts borne any proportion to their numerical strength,
both catholics and Lutherans might have trembled for
their altars, and every gentleman for his estate ; but
they were hasty, undisciplined levies, and not all actuated
by the same motives. While a considerable number

74 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

were influenced by religious fanaticism alone, a greater,
though sufficiently impressed with the same feeling,
were driven chiefly by oppression to this desperate course :
in some the first, in others, the second, motive predo-
minated ; but both entered more or less into the minds of
the insurgents. Fortunately for Germany, and we may add
for Europe, — since, had this rebellion succeeded, Wat
Tylers enough would have speedily risen in other coun-
tries— the insurgents had no common will. In some dis-
tricts, a redress of their more oppressive grievances was
guaranteed, and they laid down their arms, without con-
sulting their brethren or their prophetic chief. In others,
if all their demands were not conceded, the more important
were. We have twelve demands made by the Swa-
bian peasants, who appear to have been by far the most
moderate of the insurgents ; but it must be remembered
that they were drawn up when the Swabian league was
collecting its forces, and when the princes of the empire
were beginning to combine for their common defence.
This fact will sufficiently account for the moderation of
these articles, as compared with the instructions of the
anabaptist apostles, and with the actual tenets of the
sect. — That the people should have the choice of their
own ministers, who should teach justification by faith
alone, without any admixture of human opinions, and
whom they should at any time be able to depose or dis-
miss ; that tithes should cease, or if continued to be
paid, they should be of corn alone, and divided into
three equal portions, — one for the minister, one for the
poor, one for the sustentation of the churches ; that
they should no longer be feudally dependent on the
lords of the soil ; that suit and service, heriots and
fines, should be abolished ; that the people should have
the power of deposing their judges ; that the woods and
rivers should be open for the use of all men ; that the
meadows belonging to the lords should revert to com-
mon pasture ; — such were the chief demands of the
Swabian peasants. That not more than two or three of
them could be granted with safety to the rights of pro-

THE ANABAPTISTS. 75

perty, is evident ; but they were loudly condemned, as
too favourable, by the great majority of the insurgents.
In the Ringau, for instance, we find a list of demands,
the concession of which would have been totally incon-
sistent with the existence of all government, all order,
all society. On every side the peasantry, continually
augmented by new accessions, prosecuted their dreadful
career ; every where churches were plundered, monas-
teries destroyed, the seats of the nobility and gentry
ruined ; and all ecclesiastics and magistrates put to
death. But the princes, catholic and protestant, hastened
to extinguish a flame which must, unchecked, consume
both them and their country. Having vainly besought
the peasants to lay down their arms, and the princes to
redress the grievances of the poor, Luther exhorted the
latter to exterminate, without mercy, all who did not
voluntarily and instantly surrender. The advice ap-
pears to have been scrupulously followed ; for in a few
weeks 50,000 of the misguided creatures were mas-
sacred. Little resistance could such tumultuous forces
oppose to the warlike and highly disciplined chivalry
of Germany ; and a single hour generally witnessed
their assault, defeat, and carnage. On one occasion,
the nobles were evidently unwilling to shed blood ; pro-
posals of pardon and of redress of grievances were made,
if the people would lay down their arms. Thus, the
count of Mansfeld and his allies offered to the insurgents
of Frankhausen a complete oblivion, if they would de-
liver up their ringleaders, among whom were Muntzer
himself and his confidant Pfeiffer, an apostate monk.
Such, however, was the influence of the leader, that he
persuaded the poor fanatics to resist the proposal. In
his harangue to the people, he dwelt on the wickedness
of the tyrants assembled against them, and assured them
that heaven would fight for them ; that its succour
would be visible to every eye ; that this succour had
been promised by God himself, not only in the Scrip-
tures, but by special revelation ; and if this promise
were not fulfilled, who hereafter would confide in the

70 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

divine truth ? God would no longer suffer the tyranny
of the nobles, or the impiety of the priests. " Let us
imitate the cruelty of Phineas, in regard to the adul-
tery of Koski : God will assist those who undertake to
punish these adulterous priests. Let us advance, and
sacrifice to God this host of worthless wretches. I pro-
mise you the victory from Him who cannot lie or be
deceived, and who has confided to me the duty of ex-
terminating princes. Let not their number affright
you; — what is the use of the divine power, unless a
handful defeat a multitude ? Do you remember what
God effected by Gideon, by Jonathan, and by David ?
This very day will see the example renewed, and will
be famous to the most distant posterity. What if we
are only half armed, and furnished with few things ne-
cessary for war ? believe me, that we shall still conquer,
and that the sun which now enlightens us will fade
away sooner than we shall be deprived of God's aid.
Did not the sea open a passage for the Israelites ?
Fear not ; assail the enemy ; and be assured that I
shall receive the harmless balls in the sleeves of my
tunic." The accidental appearance of the rainbow,
which the speaker hailed as a sure prognostic of victory,
also seemed to raise the spirits of the dupes, who would
hear of no peace, and demanded the battle. To incense
the confederate princes beyond the hope of pardon, he
wrote them an insulting letter, in which he applied to
them the denunciations of Daniel and Ezekiel, and told
them that their last hour, and the last hour of all who
believed either the idolatry of popery or the corrupted
doctrine of Luther, was infallibly at hand : in the same
view, he condemned the herald who had been sent with
the offer of mercy. The action commenced ; the fore-
most ranks of the rebels were soon levelled with the
ground, as easily as a flock of sheep, and the rest fled
in consternation ; but 5000 were stretched on the field,
and some prisoners were taken : among them was the
great impostor, who, in the baseness of his fear, had hid
himself in a neighbouring house. When accidentally

THE ANABAPTISTS. 77

discovered by a valet belonging to the victorious army,
he pretended that he knew nothing of the rebellion, that
he had for some time been confined by a fever ; and
even when papers were found on his person which
proved his identity, he stoutly asserted that he was not
Muntzer. But when brought before the princes and
recognised, he defended his conduct in urging the peo-
ple to rebellion, and sustained both torture and death
with considerable courage. It has been a problem with
many writers, whether he was knave or fanatic ; but there
can be no doubt that the elements of both entered largely
into his moral constitution. Thus ended this extra-
ordinary insurrection, from the guilt of which protest-
ant writers have been at great pains to exculpate Luther.
It is, however, certain that his works had this tendency,
and that they were quoted to this effect by the dupes
themselves. Whatever the good intentions of the three
greatest European reformers, Wycliffe, Huss, and Lu-
ther, reason tells us that some of their opinions must
of necessity produce mischief, and history confirms the
justice of the reasoning. One protestant writer, though
not much distinguished for candour, has the honesty to
own the connection of the reformer's writings with the
insurrection : — " II faut convenir, aussi, que les ecrits
de Luther y avaient contribue ; car comme ils etaient
extremement injurieux aux eveques et au clerge, et
qu'ils condamnaient, dans les termes les plus forts, les
princes qui s'opposaient a la reformation, ils enflammerent
la haine des peuples contre leurs souverains ecclesias-
tiques et seculiers."*

* Crinitus, De Bello Rusticano. p. 1, &c. Hubertus Thomas, Historia
Belli Rust. p. 13, &c. Crusius, Annales Suevici, lib. x. Chrytraeus,
Saxonia, lib. xi. Guodalius, Rusticanorum Tumultuum Historia, Jib. i.
&c. Gudenus, Historia Erfurtensis, lib. iii. Struvius, Corpus Histories,
pars x. sect. iv. § 25, 26. Pallavicini, Hist. Concilii Trid. lib. ii. cap. 12.
Spalatinus, Annales (sub annis) ; necnon Vita: aliquot Electorum Sax-
oniaa, p. 11, 12, &c Dupin, Historia Ecclesiastica, cent. xvi. lib. 2. cap. 18.
Raynaldus, Annales Ecclesiastica, an. 1525. Sleidan, De Statu Religionis
Com. lib. iv. and v. Plouquet, Dictionnaire des H£r£sies, art. Anabaptistes.
Maimbourg, Histoire du Lutheranisme, liv. ii. p. 100, &c. Beausobre,
Histoire de la Reformation, torn. iii. liv. 5. Widemann, Chronicon Curias,
p. 744. lapud Menckenium, Scriptores, torn, iii.), Schmidt, Histoire des
Allemands, torn. vi. liv. 8. chap. 11. p.;362, &c. Anon., Histoire des Ana-
baptistes, p. 16, &c. ; cum aliis.

78 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

1525 But if the anabaptists were thus humbled, their
*° minds were left in a ferment, which could not fail to
' produce new disturbances. That after their recent dis-
comfiture, after proving the fallacy of the promises
which a daring impostor had made them, they should
again surrender their judgments to the most palpable
fraud, might surprise us, had we not, in our times, in-
stances no less melancholy of human credulity. After
Muntzer's death, a considerable number resorted to
Zurich, in the hope that the Zwinglians would prove
more favourable than the Lutherans. At their head
was one Balthasar, a native of Hesse, and a doc-
tor in theology. In the view of hurling Zwingle
from the spiritual government of the canton, he chal-
lenged that chief to a controversy ; but in it he was
vanquished, and compelled to promise that he would
retract. Promises, however, were but words, which
might easily be revoked; and he again offended the
magistrates of Zurich, by repeating, in presence of the
inhabitants, his obnoxious tenets. He soon found that,
from reformers, as little hope of toleration was to be
expected as from the veriest papists : he was conducted
to prison for presuming to dispute against the esta-
blished faith ; but a second retractation, and an engage-
ment not to revisit the canton, procured his enlargement.
From Zurich he repaired to Constapce, where he boasted
of having utterly confounded both Zwingle and the ma-
gistrates, on whom he opened the vials of his wrath,
especially when he heard that the disciples he had left
behind were also banished from the republic. He had,
however, the consolation of learning that this event
served to diffuse the true doctrine ; for the exiles tra-
versed Switzerland and Germany, and, like him, scat-
tered the seeds of evil wherever they came. Being
banished from Constance, he repaired to Moravia, where
he could not fail to be successful over the minds of the
Hussites ; but at Vienna he was arrested, tried, and
executed. The same doom befel many of his partisans
in the reformed no less than the catholic states; in

THE ANABAPTISTS. 79

fact, by the former they were pursued with greater
ferocity. It was, indeed, the duty of both, as Luther
advised, to suppress them. Had they been satisfied
with the promulgation of religious opinions purely spe
culative,no magistrate would have had a right to interfere
with them : but by teaching that all government was
tyranny ; that princes and magistrates should be de-
posed, and all codes committed to the flames ; that as
all men are by nature equal, so all have an equal right
to the good things of the world ; that man needs no
other guide than the spirit of God within him; they
rendered themselves obnoxious to just chastisement. A
madhouse would have been the fittest punishment ; but
where could one be found to contain so many thou-
sands ? The same objection applied to prisons ; so that
banishment or extermination was the only doom that
could be inflicted on men who would have derided
lighter penalties. Great numbers repaired into the
Low Countries, especially Holland, where for some
years they edified the Roman catholics by their burn-
ings. Yet persecution seemed for a while to increase
their numbers, no less than their wild fanaticism.
Some, in the full persuasion that Jesus Christ was
coming to found a kingdom of righteousness, ascended
the loftiest buildings and trees, that, like Zaccheus of
old, they might have the first glance of him. Of the
few who could write — for, as may easily be conceived,
they were the dregs of the people, — some published
a description of the new monarchy; nor did they hesi-
tate to assert that it was their duty to exterminate all
who refused to be rebaptised, and enter their commu-
nion. And they improved on the dangerous doctrines
we have already exposed, by teaching that every man
might have as many wives as he pleased ; nay, that
where there was no matrimonial bond, it was the duty
of every woman to gratify thet desires of the faithful.
This monstrous proposition was a natural inference
from the doctrine of Wycliffe, of Huss, and of Munt-

80 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

zer.* As all worldly things were to be had in com-
mon, why should wives or women be excluded ? She,
it was contended, who refused her consent to the mean-
est of the faithful, forfeited her Christian privileges,
and incurred as much guilt as by the most opprobrious
action. To console the sex for the infliction of an ob-
ligation so revolting to her natural delicacy ; to destroy
every trace of that delicacy, and render woman the
willing instrument of man's vilest propensities — she
was taught to believe that chastity was any thing rather
than a virtue; and she was encouraged, nay commanded,
to exact from the other sex the fulfilment of the same
abominable condition. Nay, with a refinement of vice
of which there is no parallel in all history, many of the
sect contended, that, as in Jesus Christ there was no
distinction of persons, as all were brethren, and as the
relations of the flesh were abrogated by the new affinity,
so all, however kindred in Adam, might in Jesus Christ
use the liberty vouchsafed to the saints. On this sub-
ject we cannot, for obvious reasons, dilate. Suffice it
to state, that the practice corresponded with the theory,
and that the meetings of these saints were any thing
but spiritual. Not that we would include all in the
same censure ; among them, as among some other sects,
there were grades of evil. Some there certainly were,
— we hope many, — who were chargeable with fana-
ticism alone, who refused to admit sensuality as a
Christian indulgence. Some even there were, who op-
posed the fundamental principle of the sect, — the
natural equality of mankind ; but yet they refused
obedience to any other magistrates than those elected
by themselves, — magistrates whom they invested with
a jurisdiction at once civil and ecclesiastical, who de-
cided secular disputes by the Scriptures, and preached
as well as judged. It is the nature of error perpetually
to diverge from any given point, until the original

"- * We may add, and from that of the Albigenses, from whom Wycliffe
certainly derived some of his opinions, especially this doctrine of a com-
munity of goods. See Europe during the Middle Ages, vol. ii. and
voL iv.

THE ANABAPTISTS OP MUNSTEB. 81

centre of union is lost to the view ; until any point of
divergence becomes itself the centre of other eccentrici-
ties. But under any modification, the leading principles
of the sect were discernible ; and in the great majority,
the worst lay open in their naked deformity. The
prevalence of adultery, fornication, and incest, which
in their vocabulary signified spiritual marriage ; and
the frequent instances of sacrilege in regard to the
catholic churches and monasteries, — for the madmen
believed that they were at liberty to treat the impious
idolaters around them just as the departing Israelites
treated the Egyptians — roused the local authorities, es-
pecially those of Amsterdam, where these pests were at
first most numerous. Some were beheaded, some burnt,
the less criminal imprisoned or banished, but many fled
into Westphalia, where Muntzer had left many fol-
lowers. Still many remained at Amsterdam, and among
them John Matthias, a baker of Haarlem, who assumed
the direction of the sect. To hasten the approach of
that kingdom for which all hourly prayed, Matthias
despatched twelve missionaries, whom he called his
twelve apostles, to disseminate the new doctrine. Two
of them repaired to Munster in Westphalia, which,
as early as 1533, was beginning to be regarded as the
future strong-hold of the sect, as the capital of the divine
kingdom about to be established. The superior interest
attached to this place compels us to leave the wild
fanatics of the Low Countries.*

John Beccold, a tailor of Leyden, was one of the 1533,
two apostles whom Matthias sent to Munster. They 1534.
joined the other chiefs of the anabaptists, who, being
yet too weak to resist the civil power, and that of the
bishop, its feudal head, were compelled to act with
caution. The place, indeed, contained as many Lu-
therans as catholics ; but the former, as they well knew,
were their most bitter enemies. Their first object was

* The same authorities, especially the last quoted, with the addition of
Hermannus a Kerssenbroch, Narratio de Obsidione Monasteriensi, cap. 6.
See also Bayle, Dictionnaire Historique, art. Anabaptisies.

VOL III. G

82 HISTORY OP THE GERMANJC EMPIRE.

to multiply the number of their partisans by their secret
assemblies, and then to wrest full toleration from the
municipal council ; when security was attained, then
might aggrandisement be consulted. At the close of
the same year the prophet himself joined them.
One night all the anabaptists of the city were as-
sembled, and Matthias, blowing on them, told them
to receive the Holy Ghost.* In a few weeks, their
number being considerably augmented, they expelled
the Lutherans from the churches belonging to that sect,
and began to preach with vehemence. But most of
their conversions were effected in private houses, or
even in the streets. Nothing was more frequent than
to see a band of fanatics run, half naked, along the
streets, exclaiming, Repent, and be rebaptised I the day
of the Lord is at hand ! and their howls had a won-
derful effect on the populace, who followed them to
their houses, and caught, as the populace always will,
the infectious mania. Sometimes the exhortation to
repent was accompanied by furious denunciations against
the Lutheran and Roman clergy, of whom many, in
fear, retired from the city. One day, the fanatics, see-
ing the rapidity with which their numbers increased,
hastened to the municipal hall, expelled the authorities,
and exclaimed, that all who refused to be rebaptised
should be put to death, — for such was the command
of the Lord as revealed to His saints. In this critical
situation, many of the inhabitants intrenched themselves
in a strong position, and were soon assailed. At
the end of three days, however, a body of peasantry
arriving to the succour of the magistrates, a treaty
was made, by which all were thenceforward to profess
whatever religion they pleased without molestation ; that

* Ubi vero haec verba recitasset, Crescite et multiplicamini et replete
terrain, cereos ardentes extinguit. Quae tune per noctetn istam flagitia
promised sine verecundia et pudore smt commissa, propheta in sinu
puellse satis inverecunrie deprehensus declaravit Hanc rem ifrneum bap-
lisma appellabant. — Hermannus & Kerssenbroch, cap. 15. The author
adds, that he had his information from an eye-witness.

Many such passages as this we could adduce, in support of the character
we have given of this wretched sect; but we will not hurt the eye of
modesty.

THE ANABAPTISTS OF MUNSTER. 83

all should lay aside their arms, and in civil matters yield
obedience to the secular power. But nothing was further
from the intention of the anabaptists than to observe it.
In a secret council, held that very evening, they re-
solved to invite their brethren of the other towns in
Westphalia to join them in Munster, but so cautiously
as not to raise alarm among the citizens. In the let-
ters containing the invitation, they asserted that a pro-
phet had just arrived at Munster, who was filled with
the Holy Ghost, and who displayed miraculous gifts ;
that the good cause needed the assistance of the
brethren ; that it was the duty of every believer to
forsake wife or child to labour at the establishment of
Christ's new kingdom ; and that in Munster they would
find in abundance the things necessary to life. The
call was eagerly obeyed : and the augmented boldness
of the fanatics quickly evinced their augmented power.
The chiefs now resumed their frantic careering through
the streets, vociferating Repent ! repent ! In alarm,
the chief magistrate retired from the city with the muni-
cipal archives ; and his example was instantly followed
by the clergy, both Roman catholic and protestant,
and by many of the respectable burgesses. Those who
remained, endeavoured to oppose the madmen ; but
being vanquished, they, too, were compelled to retire.
A few Lutheran preachers, however, with a portion of
their flocks, persisted in braving the storm, — partly
from natural attachment to their homes and families,
partly from fear of the bishop, who treated Lutherans
and anabaptists in the same manner. But they had
reason to repent ; for no sooner had the fanatics plun-
dered the churches, created new magistrates, — the
lowest and most flagitious of the people, — and burnt
all the books, the Bible excepted, on which they could
lay their hands, than Matthias declared the divine will
to be, that all who had not embraced the true faith
should be put to death. The doom, however, was
commuted to expulsion, but they were not allowed to.
take away any portion of their property ; and by the

84 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

bishop's troops many of them were massacred ; the
rest were driven back. — Munster was now cursed with
the reign of the saints, — the most despotic men that
ever usurped a government. Instead of adhering to
recognised law, all, in accordance with a fundamental
tenet of the sect, admitted no other rule in their deci-
sions than internal revelation. Of these Matthias was
the grand prophet, and Beccold his lieutenant ; both
active enough in preparing for the assaults of the bishop,
who, with his allies, was at no •great distance from the
city. They fortified the gates and ramparts ; inured
the men to something like discipline; and punished with
death every act of disobedience to their commands.
Matthias could not even forgive a railing expression.
An old inhabitant having one day observed, as he passed
along the streets, " There goes a pretty prophet!" the
faithful were immediately assembled in the churchyard
of St. Lambert, and the man was bound with fetters,
and brought before them. " Behold the wretch," said
Matthias, " who has dared to blaspheme the prophets
of the Lord. He must be punished, that others may be
deterred from similar impiety." The poor citizen was
immediately tied to a post, his skull was fractured by
the hand of the prophet, and sentence of death was
publicly denounced against any one who should hereafter
presume to utter one word of disrespect in regard to
the apostles of God. — In compliance with another prin-
ciple of the sect, proclamation was made that every
thing should henceforth be common, that every indi-
vidual should bring his gold and silver, his money or
plate, to the public treasury to be employed for the
common defence. To see the poorest and lowest of the
people domiciled in the mansions of nobles and princes,
or in the vast dwellings of the retired ecclesiastics, was
novel, and the sight tended not a little to encourage
them in the persuasion that their cause was favoured
by Heaven. Unfortunately for them, the provisions were
few, though their toil was great. As the assaults of
the enemy were hourly expected, " the public ministry

THE ANABAPTISTS OF 31UNSTEB. 85

of the word" was held in the great thoroughfares, not
far from some one of the gates ; and the moment this
duty was discharged, the audience hastened to their posts,
which they were forbidden to leave day or night, except
at certain periods, when they were allowed to pass half
a day with their families. In the mean time the bishop
and his allies, in three bodies, advanced against the
walls, and an assault was given. It was, however, re-
pulsed with considerable loss ; and in a sortie, which
the prophet had the courage to head, a few hundreds
more of the besiegers were left in the field, and much
booty obtained. Who now could doubt that Mat-
thias was a prophet indeed — that he was destined, as
he himself had so long asserted, to exterminate the ene-
mies of the Lord ? But this confidence was of short
continuance ; for in a second sortie, when followed by
only fifty men, both he and they were cut off. Great
was the consternation of the besieged, especially, when
they remembered that the deceased prophet had, on
leaving the place, predicted a triumphant return. To
raise their spirits, Beccold assembled and harangued
them. No tears, he observed, could- be too great for
the loss of such a man, who, like Maccabseus of old, had
valiantly fought the battles of the Lord. It might,
indeed, have been expected that the prophet should
foresee the catastrophe which awaited him ; but it
should be remembered that the Holy Ghost does not
communicate every gift to the same personv " For
my part, I knew, long hefore the event, what was to
happen ; but I was not permitted to mention the reve-
lation, — for such was the pleasure of Him who sends
good and evil to all men." What could be more evi-
dent than that Beccold was designed by Heaven to fill
the place of the departed Elijah, whose mantle he had
received ? In a moment all despair was banished, and
this new Elisha was recognised as the prophet of God.
He had more ambition than his predecessor, and, indeed,
greater talents for the post. His first care was to for-
bid any sorties which should not be countenanced by
G 3

HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

himself and the council ; his next, to melt the church
bells into cannon, and with them to open new batteries
from the steeples and towers. But his chief object was
to procure the confidence of the people, by a great ap-
pearance of sanctity, by frequent communication with
Heaven, by a winning behaviour towards all, and by the
boldness of his predictions. One night in May, and in
the third month of the siege, under the pretext of
visiting the centinels, he mounted the ramparts, where
stripping himself naked, he descended into the city,
and ran along the streets, exclaiming in a loud voice,
The king of Sion is coming ! The king of Sion is
coming ! And when he had made the tour of the place,
he resumed his garments, and returned to his own
house. Great was the surprise of the citizens, who,
on the following morning, repaired to the prophet to
learn what new thing the Lord had revealed. Instead
of replying, Beccold wrote that his tongue was tied
during three days. What could be the meaning of this
prodigy ? One thing was clear, — that he was in the
same situation as Zacharias in the Gospel, and that
signs and wonders were renewed for the sake of the
faithful. During the three days the prophet was in-
accessible : on their expiration, he suffered himself to
be seen by the people, and declared that he had re-
ceived a revelation to the effect that the new Israel was
no longer to be governed by a council, but by twelve
judges. Nobody distrusted the impostor, and he was
at once permitted to name the twelve favoured indi-
viduals, who of course were his own creatures. Pre-
tending to invest them with sovereign authority, with
the power of deciding in the last resort every dispute,
civil, criminal, or ecclesiastical, he arbitrarily directed
their proceedings, and took care that sentence of death
should be pronounced on all who were hostile to his
views. His moral conduct was not better than that of
his predecessor. One night, as he left his bed for that
of a female acquaintance, who appears to have slept in
a contiguous apartment, he was perceived by a soldier.

THE ANABAPTISTS OP MUNSTER. 87

Aware of the circumstance, the following morning he
offered the man a piece of money to keep the secret ;
but reflecting that it would be unsafe in such a breast,
he convoked the people, and asked whether,, by the law
of God, a man might not have a -plurality of wives ?
The ministers replied that any one might ; but the
saying displeased one man, more honest and enlightened
than the rest, who, in a discourse of some length,
proved that it was contrary to Scripture. The rash
speaker was instantly seized and beheaded, for pre-
suming to contradict the prophet of God. This cruelty
so incensed a portion of the people, — for all, as we
have before observed, were not equally abandoned, —
that they resolved to surrender the city. Doubtless
there were other reasons, — the tyranny of Beccold, the
insolence of the twelve judges, the scarcity of pro-
visions, and, above all, the dread of the punishment
which awaited the whole population when the place
should fall, as it inevitably must fall, into the hands of
the bishop. But the conspiracy was discovered, and
the fifty implicated in it were condemned and executed,
under circumstances of such atrocity as to rouse the
hatred of the few who had any portion of natural feel-
ing remaining. The terrible example, however, caused
them to smother the sentiment ; and the reign of the
tyrant was continued. In fact, that tyranny was aug-
mented. He was soon dissatisfied with even the shadow
of restraint ; and, mad as the design might appear, he
aspired to a crown. One day, in presence of the
people, he had the modesty to exclaim, " Hear, O
judges, the voice of the Lord ! As formerly I esta-
blished Saul over Israel, and after him David, though
only a shepherd, even so I establish John Beccold, my
prophet, to be king in Sion ! " But the artifice was
too gross even for the anabaptists of Munster ; the
judges refused to obey, under the pretext that an order
so important could not be carried into execution until
it had been proved to come indeed from heaven. The
impostor protested that the dignity was not of his seeking,
G 4

88 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

that he would rather be a hewer of wood or drawer of
•water, than a ruler over his brethren ; but that the spirit of
God had spoken, and he could not disobey. The judges
then observed, that the people only, in full assembly,
had the right to choose a king. It was accordingly
resolved to convoke them ; but before the meeting, the
prophet arranged the details of the farce with a worker
in metals, whom he bound to his interests ; yet the
artifice was as gross. " I behold a prophet ! " cried
Beccold, " in the midst of the judges," — fixing his eyes
on the mechanic. Perceiving that their looks were on
him, and advancing with considerable solemnity, the
mechanic commanded the judges to assemble the people
in the market-place ; and when all were congregated,
he cried aloud : — " Listen, O Israel, to what the Lord
thy God commandeth thee ! You will depose from
their offices the judges, the bishop, and the ministers,
whom in obedience to my will you placed over this
city, and you will choose others in their stead. You
will select twelve ignorant and illiterate men to an-
nounce my word to the people, — men who, being
guided only by my spirit, will explain it purely and
without human succour, and for this end I will give
them the spirit of understanding and wisdom." Then
turning to Beccold, and presenting him with a drawn
sword, " Receive this sword which the Father giveth
thee ! By it he maketh thee king to govern not only
in Sion, but the whole earth, and by it thou shalt
extend thy dominion until it embrace the east and the
west ! " He concluded his harangue, by exhorting the
people not to resist the divine injunction, since the
prosperity of the new state was inseparably connected
with the elevation of Beccold ; and by reminding the
designated ruler that, as God had thus called him to
the government of Sion, he was bound to discharge his
office so as to draw on him and his subjects the blessing
of heaven. Elated by so novel a prospect, the fickle
multitude, whose fundamental tenet was the rejection of
all princes, hailed Beccold as king in Sion; and his

THE ANABAPTISTS OP MUNSTEB.

coronation was instantly performed in the churchyard
of St. Lambert, June 24th, 1534.*

Beccold must have been aware that his reign would 1534.
be short ; but he was resolved it should at least be a
merry one. His first care was to nominate the great
officers of his household, and to array them in apparel
rather glittering than magnificent. Every thing that
was valuable in the public treasury or city was brought
to his palace ; he often appeared in public with thirty
horse ; and his thrones, of which there was one in his
own palace, the other in the market-place, were costly
erections. On the latter he gave audience three times a
week; and decided the cases which were brought before
him, without any regard to law or reason, but by his
fancy, or, as he pretended, by the light of inward reve-
lation. He promulgated, indeed, a few laws which
might furnish matter for reflection. — 1. Thus, though
the right of private interpretation in regard to the
Scriptures is the fundamental tenet of the reformation,
it was strictly prohibited, and under no less a penalty
than that of death, in this new Jerusalem : to assign to
any passage a sense other than that of the saints, was
downright impiety, — in fact, treason against Heaven.
2. " If a prophet arise in Israel, and predict any thing
diverse from the word of God, he shall be separated
from the people, and slain by them, that all may abo-
minate his wickedness." This sanguinary enactment
has no equal in the worst times of persecution. 3. The

* Anon. Histoire des Anabaptistes, liv. 2. Hermannus a Kerssenbroch,
Historia de Obsidione Monasteriensi, cap. 8 — 23. Plouquet, Dictionnaire
des Heresies, art. Anabaptistes. Bayle, Dictionnaire Historique, art.
Beccold. Sleidan, De Statu Religionis Com. lib. 10. Lambertus Hortensius,
Tumultus Anabaptistorum ; necnon Corvinu?, Libellum de Monasteriensi
Anabaptistorum Excidia (apud Schardium, Scriptores Rerum Germania;,
torn. ii.). Schmidt, Histoire des Allemands, torn. vi. liv. 8. chap. 20. Du-
pin, Historia Ecclesiastica, cent. xvi. lib. 2. cap. 28. Raynaldus, An-
nales Ecclesiastic!, A. D. 1534. Struvius, Corpus Historiae, pars x. sect. 4.
Spalatinus, Vita; aliquot Electorum ; necnon Annales (subannis). Dorpius,
Historia quomodo Evangelium Monasterii coeperit, passim. Chytrasus,
Saxonia, lib. xii. — xiv. Gessarius, Annales Augustbergenses, p. 1800, &c.
Heuterus, Historia, lib. x. xi. Mosheim, Historia Ecclesiastica, cent. xvi.
Hamelmannus, Historia Reacti Evangelii, pars ii. Printz, Specimen
Historia; Anabaptist, cap. 10, &c. Heresbach, De Factione Monasterien.
sium, passim.

90 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

man who was absent three days from his family or
camp, without the knowledge of his wife or general,
lost all claim to his wife : she was enjoined to take an-
other husband. But, though these and similar laws
were to be observed by the people, Beccoldwas superior to
them : under the pretext of revelation, he could observe
or abrogate them at his pleasure. Great was the pomp
with which he advanced to his throne of judgment on
the appointed days. Surrounded by his councillors
clad in purple and gold, amidst the sound of trumpets,
with the ensigns of dignity borne before him, with a
golden crown on his head and a sceptre in his hand,
and often followed by his favourite women, he endea-
voured to forget, and was still more anxious that others
should forget, the tailor in the king. On taking his
seat, after the usual flourishes of music, all who had
complaints to make before " the righteous king," were
exhorted to approach. " Ibi (bone Deus !) causse tur-
pissimse et castis auribus indignissimae, turpissimo
judici decidendae offeruntur, de incesto, de fornicatione,
de adulterio, de impotentia conjugali, de conjugutn
divortio, de matrimonii distractione, de reliquis rebus
foedissimis. Maxima autem controversia fuit inter con-
juges de negate sibi utrumque debito conjugali que-
rentes, quee inobedientia extremo supplicio plectebatur."
Of his judgments we have some instances. Incensed
that her husband paid more attention to a younger wife
than herself, one of the godly women in Israel threat-
ened to knock out his brains unless he dismissed the rival.
This was a dangerous example, and, by the royal order,
the lady was immediately beheaded. One woman was
put to death because she was adorned with ornaments
too expensive for the faithful, who should have no-
thing in common ; another, because she concealed some
money, contrary to the royal edict ; a third, because she
refused the debitum conjugale. Not merely in splendour
and in despotic power did Beccold endeavour to imitate
the Jewish kings, — the only sovereigns of whom he had
ever read, — he resolved there should be another point

THE ANABAPTISTS OF MUNSTER. 91

of resemblance in the number of his wives. When re-
cognised as judge over Israel, he had only one, the
widow of Matthias, who had the honours of queen ; but,
by degrees, he augmented the number to seventeen, and
declared his intention of raising it to an hundred, — an
intention which would certainly have been carried into
execution, had not his career of iniquity been cut short.
Besides them, he had a considerable number of concu-
bines ; nor was he inattentive to his royal privilege of
selecting for the occasion the wives or daughters of his
subjects. He had, at first, some trouble in preserving
harmony among women whose jealousy of each other
might have honoured an eastern seraglio ; but no eastern
despot- was ever so absolute as he. The names of his
wives he caused to be written on a tablet suspended from
the wall of the apartment in which he supped with
them. A wand applied to the name of the one with
whom he wished to pass the night, was the only in-
timation he condescended to give ; and the lady thus
favoured, prepared, by bathing and perfumes, and by
"arraying herself in the most splendid apparel, to show
her gratitude for the choice. Woe to the woman, whe-
ther concubine or wife, who presumed to resist his will,
or to disturb the harmony which reigned in his seraglio !
One Elizabeth Wandtscherers, the wife of a citizen, was
noted for an untamed disposition ; and was not, we are
told, very fond of the marriage state. Knowing that
resistance to her husband's will would, in such a place,
lead to her destruction, she attempted to escape, but was
discovered, brought back, and forced to submit. In a
short time, her lord paid the debt of nature ; but this
afforded her no relief, for she was speedily compelled to
marry a second husband. In fact, among these vicious
enthusiasts, marriage was a part of religion : no girl
above thirteen was allowed to remain single ; for, in a
place where any man might have as many wives as he
could support, he refused to wait until the maturity of the
maidens. Elizabeth, who was as much averse to the
second as she had been to the first husband, demanded

92 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

a divorce, on the ground that her consent had been ex-
torted by her father. It was granted ; but her father
reproaching her with her rebellion, the shrew replied,
that there was not a man in Munster capable of ruling
her. Her words being reported to the king, he caused
her to be thrown into, prison. At the end of two days,
he caused her to be brought before him for condemna-
tion ; but, being pleased with her beauty, he asked her
whether, in case he should make her his wife, she would
henceforth be obedient. Confinement had subdued her
spirit, and, with much humility, she replied, — " If
thine handmaid should find such favour in the eyes of
my lord the king, willingly would I wash the feet of
my lord the king's wives ; yea, and if it were possible,
stoop to meaner offices : thine handmaid will always be
at the pleasure of my lord ! " She was, accordingly,
admitted into the seraglio, where, during six months,
she endeavoured to control her temper, and be recon-
ciled to her situation. But she grew disgusted with her
position : the impiety, the luxury, the unbridled lust
of her royal paramour, at a time when half the city
wanted the necessaries of life, sunk into her mind ; she
felt degraded at being the instrument of the vilest pas-
fcions ; and, in a moment of conscience or of personal
pique, she returned to the king the jewels and fine rai-
ment she had received from him, and requested permis-
sion to retire from the court. His wrath was un-
bounded : such rebellion against the holy of the Lord,
was not to be borne ; and., with his own hands, he
beheaded her — not privately in his palace, but in the
market-place, in presence of his wives, the officers of
his court, and even of the whole city ; and when the
execution was concluded, he danced, while his women
chanted " Gloria in excelsis Deo ! '' Afterwards, king
and courtiers, wives and mistresses, danced lasciviously
round the dead body ; the first declaring that he had
but fulfilled the commands of the Father, who would
not allow such an impious jade any longer to pollute
the society of the faithful. Some murmurs ap-

THE ANABAPTISTS OF MUNSTER. 93

pear to have been excited by this sanguinary act ; but
Beccold, who had as exalted a notion of the royal au-
thority as the Bourbons, the Tudors, or the Stewarts,
insisted that the first duty of subjects was obedience ;
that a king had no earthly superior, and must account
for his conduct to God alone. The enthusiasm excited
for his cause, or rather for the cause of all, sometimes
displayed itself strongly. All were ready to compare
their circumstances with those of the Israelites; and all
expected that, as the power of God had been once ex-
erted in favour of the saints, so would it be on the
present occasion. A woman, of some respectability and
of considerable personal attractions, having her imagin-
ation continually haunted with the exploit of Judith
against Holofernes, resolved to imitate that heroine, by
ridding the persecuted faithful of the bishop ; whose
death, she believed, would immediately be followed by
the raising of the siege. That the impulse was from
heaven, she did not doubt, especially when her design
was warmly approved by Beccold and the prophets, who
confidently predicted its success. Arrayed in the most
precious apparel, with poison carefully concealed about
her person, she one morning issued from the gates, and
hastened to the hostile camp. Being seized, brought
before one of the bishop's allies, and interrogated as to
her object, she replied, that it was to procure food for
herself and husband, then in the city ; that both were
tired of the anabaptists, and would willingly join in any
project to surrender the place to the bishop, its lawful
ruler. She then requested to be led to the prince. For-
tunately for him, however, a deserter from the city ar-
rived, who made known her design ; the poison was
found on her ; and she was cast into prison. When put
to the torture, the fair enthusiast confessed her purpose ;
declared that, if she had not obeyed the commands, she
must have incurred the wrath, of God ; and asserted
her willingness to bear any torment from men, rather
than offend Him who had intrusted her, lowly as she
was, with the mission. She expressed her conviction,

94 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE..

however, that on her human weapons would be harmless;
but one blow of the executioner severed her head from
her body.*

1534, How this burlesque of royalty contrived, during a
1535.fuH year, to maintain his authority, appears surprising.
Perhaps, however, the very wantonness of his freaks,
and the total absence of all rule exhibited in his con-
duct, only served to impress his subjects the more deeply
with his divine mission. In th& earlier part of his
reign, there was certainly much attachment to his go-
vernment, and he took care that the more turbulent
spirits — those which had any influence over the popu-
lace— should be removed from the place. One day, as
he was seated on his throne, which was elevated in the
market-place far above the heads of the spectators, and
was arrayed in his royal robes, with his pages and
- ministers on each side of him, one of the prophets
danced up the steps, — the usual gait of an anabaptist
prophet, as it was of the king, who wished to imitate
the jumping of David before the ark, — and cried aloud,
— " King John, thou art destined to restore the Gospel
of Christ. Thus saith the Lord unto me, his prophet :
' Go unto the king of Sion, and say unto him, let my
last supper be celebrated in the churchyard of the ca-
thedral. And let the preachers of my word be sent to
the four corners of the earth, to teach unto men the
way of salvation, to bring all men into my fold !'" In
compliance with the celestial admonition, the people, to
the number of 4000, repaired to the cemetery. Before
the communion, there was a substantial entertainment,
— a welcome novelty in a city half-famished ; then
the king and queen, assisted by the ministers, gave the
Lord's supper to the people ; lastly, the royal household
communicated, and the " Gloria in excelsis " was
chanted. (We may here observe, that the mode of
communion scarcely differed from that of an ordinary
meal : the people ate bread and drank wine, while a few

* The same authorities.

THE ANABAPTISTS OP MTJNSTER. Q5

sentences from Scripture were repeated.) Beccold now
demanded, whether all present were willing to obey God
by suffering, and, if necessary, by sacrificing their lives
for the truth ; and when a reply in the affirmative was
returned, a prophet, slowly arising, said, — " Hear the
voice of the Lord ! Choose from among my people such
as may seem good unto thee, and send them to the ends
of the earth, that they may perform wondrous things,
and announce the truth to all nations. And let those
who refuse to depart, die the death ! " Then drawing
forth a paper, the prophet read the names of those di-
vinely appointed to the mission ; and we need scarcely
observe, that they consisted of persons who, from their
influence or disaffection, were obnoxious to the king.
Beccokl harangued them with much gravity ; assuring
them of the high honour they enjoyed in being thus
called to labour at the establishment of the universal
kingdom, of the glory which awaited them here and
hereafter, and exhorting them to sustain every persecu-
tion with cheerfulness, since theirs was a holy vocation,
and a cause that must ultimately triumph. The num-
ber of missionaries was twenty-six ; of whom seven
were sent to Osnaburg, the rest to other places ; and, at
his departure, each received a piece of gold. Into every
place they- entered in the usual manner, raising frightful
howls, and threatening all who did not immediately re-
pent, and were not rebaptised, with eternal wrath.
When brought before the magistrates, and interrogated,
they readily avowed their mission, — that they came
from John the Righteous, king of Sion, and by the
command of God the Father, to preach the Gospel; and,
throwing down the piece of money, they exhorted the
people to bring, in like manner, their whole worldly
substance, and live in common. When examined as to
their tenets, they did not scruple to unfold them : and
they incensed the magistrates still more by affirming
that the pope and Luther were equally the ministers of
Satan ; that the latter was even worse than the former;

96 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

that the Gospel in its purity was now preached for the
first time ; and that no prophets were to be compared
with David George of Delft, and John Beccold of Ley-
den, now king of Sion. When put to the torture, they
acknowledged that there was much disaffection in Mun-
ster, that even the prophets were divided ; that the
number of able defenders did not exceed 3000, but that
reinforcements were daily expected from Holland and
Frisia. Most of them persisted in believing that Bec-
cold would soon reign over the whole earth, and that
the cities which refused obedience would be treated like
Sodom and Gomorrah ; that the bishop of Munster
would, in a few days, be compelled to raise the siege ;
and that the impious would every where be exter-
minated by the faithful. At length all were put to
death, except one Hilversum, who was spared by the
bishop of Munster, on the condition that he would do
all he could to hasten the surrender of the city. On his
return, he was seized and brought before Beccold, who
demanded, with much severity, the reason why he had
so shamefully fled from his post ; why he had not, if
necessary, suffered death in the discharge of his duty.
But Hilversum could act the prophet as well as his em-
ployers. He declared that he had been divinely com-
manded to return ; that he had been released from his
bonds by an angel ; that he was commissioned to tell
the king, that God would speedily deliver three powerful
cities — Amsterdam,Deventer,andWezel — into the hands
of the saints ; and that to obtain possession, nothing was
required but the presence of apostles. It is difficult to
suppose that Beccold believed in predictions of which
his own experience must have taught him the value ;
and the honour which he now showed to Hilversum
may be explained by his anxiety to make his hungry
followers believe that their affairs were not yet desperate.
According to the new prophet's advice, he sent Jacob
de Kaupen to Amsterdam, with the authority of bishop,
and with him a coadjutor. Here, too, was a manifest
violation of the principle common to Lutherans and

THE ANABAPTISTS OF MUNSTER. 97

anabaptists, — that, all ecclesiastical authority was of
Satan ; but the latter, who had special revelation to
guide them, could suspend or abrogate any tenet, any
doctrine, any duty, at pleasure. The two missionaries
reached Amsterdam at a time when that city, like many
other places of the Low Countries, was in a state of
agitation through the secret preaching of the ana-
baptists. The governor of the province was aware that
the opinions of the fanatics tended to the subversion
of the state ; and murmurs of approaching revolution
from time to time reached his ears ; but he could not
reach the conspirators. Occasionally he could seize on
a solitary anabaptist, and edify the people with a public
execution ; but he knew that proselytes were made
more rapidly than they were destroyed. — During six
months bishop Jacob remained concealed, but active ;
and, from the increased number of his adherents, he
was able to organise a new conspiracy, the object of
which was the overthrow of the government, and the
extermination of all who refused the Gospel. For-
tunately, however, there were divisions in Amsterdam
as well as in Munster, and many of the fanatics, re-
jecting his episcopal authority, and that of his master
Beccold, adhered to other chiefs, — in fact, whoever had
ambition, called himself a prophet, and gave utterance
to the blasphemy which best served his purpose. In
one of the secret meetings, a tailor, named Theodore,
fell into an ecstasy, and prayed with such fury that
the imagination of all present was excited. " I have
seen the Lord in His glory," cried the knave, " and
have spoken with Him ! I have been taken to high
heaven, and from thence down into hell ! The judg-
ment day is at hand ! " Then addressing one pre-
sent, — " As for thee, thou wilt certainly be damned ! "
The terrified sinner began to exclaim, — " Lord, have
mercy upon me ! " and was soon released from his fear
by the gracious assurance of the prophet that his sins
were instantaneously forgiven, that he was now a child

VOL. III. H

98 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE. '

of God. The morning following this fanatical exhibition
was destined to be memorable. At a very early hour —
soon after midnight — they met in increased numbers at
the same house ; the women, of whom many had left
their husbands asleep, considerably predominating.
About four hours were passed in preaching and prayer,
when the prophet Theodore, who, for greater security
was armed, successively laid aside his helmet, cuirass,
sword, and clothes, which he cast into the fire, and
stood there in puris naturalibus. Nor did this freak
suffice ; for in a loud voice he called on every one pre-
sent, man and woman, to do the same. The command
was instantly obeyed : all of even that sex naturally
so distinguished for its modesty, which instinctively
recoils at the very shadow of indelicacy, believing that
the less they possessed of earthly clothing, the more
they should be clad in the celestial virtues, stood with-
out even a fillet to bind their hair ! But Theodore
contemplated a nobler feat. Opening the door of the
apartment, he ordered all present to follow him ; and all
rushed into the street, exclaiming, — " Woe ! woe !
the vengeance of God ! the vengeance of God ! " Their
cries roused the burghers, who, believing that some
enemy was at hand, seized their arms, and hastened to
the great square of the city. They seized the fanatics,
who at first refused the garments that were offered
them, saying that to disguise truth and nature was a
sin. In the course of the day other arrests were made ;
the gates of the city were shut ; and proclamation was
made throughout Holland, that no one, under severe
penalties, should admit into his house any anabaptist
missionary, while pardon was assured to such of the
dupes as should hasten to a Roman catholic priest for
readmission into the bosom of the church. The ma-
gistracy were alarmed, and they had reason to be so ;
for though little was to be feared from such frenzied
creatures as were now in custody, the great body of the
sect had designs deeply laid and extensively ramified.

THE' ANABAPTISTS OF JIUNSTER. 99

But they acted with firmness, — we may add, with
atrocious cruelty ; instead of executing the seventeen
men who had run along the streets, they should have
confined them to a madhouse. The courage with which
these poor maniacs met their fate was worthy of the
ancient martyrs. " Glory be to God ! " — ef Lord, avenge
the blood of thy saints !" — " Rejoice in the Lord !"—
" To Thee, O Father, be all honour, glory, might, ma-
jesty, and dominion !" — " Into thine hands I comrnenc
my soul!" — " How sweet to die for love of Thee!"
were the last words of these victims. This barbarity
had little effect. In different parts of the Low Coun-
tries, the anabaptists arose, destroyed many churches
and monasteries, and massacred the ecclesiastics. Hence-
forth they can have no pity from the reader, however
he may lament their wanderings : they were no longer
mere sectaries, but rebels, murderers, and thieves,
against whom all the severity of the law ought to be
directed. In other parts, the men and women stripped
themselves naked at their godly meetings ; sometimes
they danced ; sometimes, if report were true, they
did worse, contending that to those who were free in
Christ every thing was permitted. Some of the leaders,
dissatisfied with the name of prophet, loudly proclaimed
themselves the Messiah. One appealed to his mother,
who was present in the assembly, whether his birth
were not miraculous, and the woman confirmed the
imposture. Another present having the courage to
upbraid him for it, the enraged prophet loaded him
with a volley of curses, and threw him down. Fortu-
nately, the ambassador from his majesty of Munster
was near, and they assailed him so furiously with hands
and feet, that he just escaped with his life. But if he
departed, other knaves remained, whose influence over
the multitude is one of the most melancholy proofs of
human weakness. That error may be diffused with as
great rapidity as truth, is proved by all experience ;
but, fortunately, its empire is fleeting. If combined

100 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

and directed by one common mind, these fanatics would
have been formidable to the neighbouring cities : but
each was willing to pass for a prophet superior to the
rest ; each aspired to the glory of founding a new sect,
perhaps a new kingdom ; and we are, therefore, not
surprised that the frequent ambassadors of Beccold were
unable to procure their co-operation. Some of them
directed a population far more numerous than that of
rt John the Righteous," and with a despotism scarcely
inferior. In vain did John de Geelen, a favourite
minister of the king, represent the critical position of
Munster, and the facility with which the siege might
be raised. Seeing the impossibility of procuring suc-
cour for his master, John de Geelen resolved to la-
bour for himself. In this view he laid the boldest
claims to prophecy, and hastened to Amsterdam, where
his reputation had preceded him. To avoid detection,
however, he assumed another name, and promoted his
design with unceasing activity. But in some respects
he differed from his brother knaves. Believing that the
interests of the present might be made to prevail over
those of a future state, he dwelt on the approaching
establishment of an earthly kingdom in which the
faithful should enjoy every pleasure of life, — wine and
women, power and riches. Nor was his policy in other
respects inferior to his impudence. Hearing that he
was proscribed, and finding from experience how diffi-
cult it was to act with vigour so long as he was com-
pelled to remain hidden, he went boldly to Brussels,
expressed his contrition for his past errors, and pro-
posed, as the condition of pardon, to assist in hastening
the ruin of the anabaptists, especially by the surrender
of Munster. His proposal was accepted ; letters of
credence, and even a sum of money for the levy of
troops, were given him ; and he returned joyful to Am-
sterdam, where he appeared openly. To deceive the
magistracy still more, he placed the arms of Spain over
the door of the house in which he resided. His object

THE ANABAPTISTS OF MUNSTER. 101

was neither more nor less than to seize the city, and
render it the capital of a new state, like Minister. He
had little difficulty in prevailing on'the majority of the
anabaptists to join the conspiracy. They agreed to
execute the citizens who had shown most hostility to
the sect, and they divided beforehand the property of all.
The time appointed for their rising was the 10th of May,
1535. On the morning of that day, however, the plot
was accidentally discovered, and the magistrates were
able to provide for its frustration. A bloody combat
followed, which ended in the destruction, or flight, or
imprisonment of all the rebels in the place. Among
the slain was John de Geelen ; of the fugitives, many
took refuge in England. The prisoners, some hundreds
in number, were executed, often under circumstances of
great barbarity. Jacob de Kempen himself, who had
continued hidden, though his activity never ceased to
be felt, was discovered, taken, and put to a horrid death.
In short, the insurrection was, for the time, suppressed
throughout the Low Countries; though suppressed only
to biyst out with increased fury under Philip, the suc-
cessor of Charles.*

Nothing could equal the rage of Beccold on hearing 1535.
the duplicity of one agent, and the ill success of the
other. His affairs were growing desperate : his pro-
visions were nearly exhausted ; and unless the siege
were raised, the place, he knew, must soon surrender.
Though John de Geelen had thus proved traitorous, so
much was he in want of troops, that he resolved to in-
trust a considerable sum of money to another of his
prophets, and send him to Frisia and Holland for the
same purpose. This was the same Henry Hilversum,
who had concerted with the bishop the means of sur-

* Authorities: — Dupin, Historia Ecclesiastica ; Raynaldus, Annales
Eccles. ; Sleidan, De Statu Religionis; Hermannus S. Kerssenbroch, DC
Obsidione Monasteriensi ; Anon., Histoire des Anabaptistes ; Bayle,
Dictionnaire Historique ; Lambertus Hortensius, Tumultus Anabaptis-
torum; Corvinus, De Anabaptistorum Excidio ; Schmidt, Histoire Ues
Alleraands ; Struvius, Corpus Historia? ; and others.

H 3

102 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

rendering the city. The prophet, in whom the king
had an entire confidence, took the money, left the city,
and repaired to the -camp of the besiegers. From the
tent of the bishop he wrote to the citizens, upbraiding
them at once for their wickedness and folly, representing
all their prophets as so many knaves whose only object
was to abuse the people, whose morals were as impure
as their principles were detestable. He defied them to
produce one single instance where, of their innumerable
prophecies, one had been fulfilled ; and he pointed out
to them in glowing colours the fate which awaited them.
This letter made a deep impression on the famishing
dupes : it shook the tyrant's throne ; but he quickly
assembled them in the market place, and by his ordi-
nary eloquence succeeded in repressing their open mur-
murs. He dwelt at some length on their feebleness of
mind, which was at once injurious to their own spiritual
welfare, and displeasing to heaven ; assured them that
God's promises would not fail of accomplishment ; that
His pleasure was to try their patience for a season, in order
that he might reward them the more abundantly j that
he who, after once putting his hand to the Gospel plough,
looked back, was not worthy of the kingdom ; that
famine was more easy to be borne than the wrath of
heaven ; that if they persevered in well-doing, their de-
liverance was at hand ; and that Henry Hilversum had
never been the prophet of God, but of Satan, who had
inspired him from his youth. But, he might have been
asked, if your associate were thus filled with the spirit
of evil, how came you, a true prophet, to repose your
confidence in him ? If his harangue prevented an in-
surrection, it did not satisfy the hearers, who retired to
their stations or their homes in mournful silence. Their
condition was, indeed, hopeless. Such was the famine,
that parents were known to eat their own children ;
their skin was flaccid, their flesh fell away, their bones
were protruded, their eyes deeply sunk in the sockets,
their complexion sepulchral, — in short, they resembled
spectres, not li ving beings. Yet, when the city were taken,

THE ANABAPTISTS OF BIUNSTER. 103

what awaited them but death ? Sudden death, indeed,
would have been preferable to this lingering fatal dis-
ease ; every day scores fell dead in the streets, and were
carried away to a deep pit, into which they were thrown
without funeral rites. Even the besiegers, to whom
deserters explained their situation, pitied their fate.
Not so, however, Luther and his followers, who exhorted
the German princes to exterminate them, as they had
already exterminated the insurgent parents of the same
sect. Seeing no hope, many decided that the gates
should be opened, that they might rush on the swords
of the enemy ; the old and the very young, some men
and many of the women, in all above a thousand, were
suffered to leave the place : the men were cruelly ex-
ecuted ; the women and children were fed and suffered
to depart. At length one of the anabaptists, who had
been a soldier of the bishop, descended secretly from the
walls, and ran to the camp, engaging to surprise the
city if furnished with some resolute men. They were
immediately granted : he led them, during the silence of
night, to a part of the ditch which he knew to be shallow,
and to a point of the rampart which was ill supplied
with defenders : the ditch was cleared, and the rampart
mounted, before the enemy were aware of their pre-
sence. Having penetrated to the market-place, a battle
followed, in which the anabaptists had the advantage ;
but the besiegers, being driven back to the gates, broke
them down, and thereby gave admission to the whole
army. Now all was carnage : no pity was shown to
tottering age or helpless infants, or to the suppli-
cating tears of beauty. Beccold was captured, and
dragged at the tail of a horse from the scene of his
fantastic glory, to a castle of the bishop a few miles
from the city. He remained some months in imprison-
ment. Before his execution, the prelate wished to con-
vert him, nor were the Lutherans inattentive to his
spiritual state ; but he rejected the offers of both. He
bore, with unshaken firmness, both his rigorous con-
finement, and the prospect of inevitable death. When
H 4

104 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

asked by what right he had usurped the government
of the city and subjects of the bishop, he replied, " By
that of the strongest; and I should be glad to know
what other right invested the first bishop with the
sovereignty." He forgot, however, or perhaps he never
knew, that the episcopal authority in question was con-
ceded by the emperor and states, and was recognised by
the people as vassals. But if he was thus firm, he was
not tired of life ; and he proposed, we are told, as the
condition of pardon, to bring back all the anabaptists of
the Low Countries to a sound mind. This, however,
is somewhat improbable ; for what authority, what
powers of reasoning, had he to influence people who had
never recognised him ? people who had never willingly
obeyed even their own prophets — who were hostile to all
government, all order, all industry and tranquillity ?
When asked how he could make satisfaction for the
mischiefs he had done — how repair the churches and
monasteries which he had ruined, and retain the sub-
stance which he had wasted, he is said to have replied,
" Shut me in an iron cage, and show me for money,
and in a short time you will be doubly remunerated."
Into the horrible details of his execution, and that of his
confidential associates, we will not enter. We shall only
observe, that no cruelty could be more demoniacal than
that of the victors ; and that the name of the Christian
bishop and of others who sanctioned it, ought to be held
in execration so long as there are records among men.*
1525. But we will now leave these sectaries, whose doc-
trines, however enthusiastic, absurd, and mischievous,
were deducible from those of Luther, that we may
revert to that celebrated man. If he lost his old pro-
tector in the elector of Saxony, who died in 1525, he
found a friend and professed partisan in the successor
of that prince, who had long held the tenets of the
reformation, and who had distinguished himself by
his hostility to the ancient faith. Let us add, that

* The same authorities before quoted at page 101.

MARTIN LUTHER. 105

if in the same year several cities of Germany and
Switzerland, and some myriads of subjects in the Low
Countries, were severed from his spiritual empire,
he could yet boast that it was rapidly extending in
other directions. To the duke of Saxony were suc-
sessively added the elector palatine, the duke of Deux
Pontz, the landgrave of Hesse, the grand master of
Prussia, and even the whole province, with a consider-
able number of cities in various parts of the empire.
If to this we add, that Bohemia and Moravia were half
reformed, that Denmark and Sweden were wholly so,
that even the sectaries of Switzerland, the Netherlands,
France, and England, must of necessity wish well to
the cause of reform, we shall perceive that the moral
resolution was not to be destroyed, however it might be
checked, by emperor and pope. Into the motives
which led most of the Germanic princes and nobles to
forsake the Roman catholic for the Lutheran faith, we
will not enter ; though the survey might be instructive,
it would be felt as invidious : for though as we readily
acknowledge, the reformation was in many respects a
great good, — a good which has not always been suf-
ficiently appreciated, — in some it was an evil ; and even
the instruments of the good are seldom worthy of praise.
Rejecting moral causes, and confining ourselves to facts
open and purely historic, we may observe that the pro-
spect of dividing among themselves the rich domains of
the church must have operated powerfully on men who
were burthened with debts, whose habits of life were
too extravagant to be gratified, and who had never been
much distinguished for religious zeal. Luther himself
acknowledged that most followers of his were as rapa-
cious, as unprincipled, as heedless of justice or mercy,
as those who had preceded them. Sometimes he broke
out into indignant eloquence, in seeing the ecclesiastics
turned, without a pension, without means of support,
into the world, while the ample wealth of the church
passed into the hands of dissolute laymen. He consoled
himself, however, by the reflection, that the world had

106 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

always belonged to Satan ; that its only god was self-
interest. Once, after an unsuccessful remonstrance with
the elector of Saxony, he declared the world to be so
corrupted, that nobody but tyrants were fit to govern
it. But, tyrants as they were, he was very solicitous to
have them for his allies. At the instigation of Christian
king of Denmark, he even attempted to mollify Henry
of England, in the hope that the disputes between that
monarch and the Roman see would lead to his junction
with the reformers. But the manner of his apology
was not likely to produce the effect designed. By sup-
posing that " the wretched Defence of the Seven Sacra-
ments " was not the king's, he hurt the vanity of the
monarch, who was proud of his work ; by assuming a
tone of superiority both as to character and ability, by
speaking as a preceptor would speak to a pupil, he for
ever indisposed the vain man against him ; and by
lauding at once the popes, and " that curse of England,
the cardinal of York," he sought most impolitically to
embroil Henry with them, at a time when circumstances
rendered the attempt hopeless. But the assertion that
the king was beginning to favour the new Gospel, pro-
voked him to reply. In the tract now published,
Henry avowed himself to be the author of the " De-
fence ; " asserts that he shall esteem Wolsey more than
ever, since that cardinal had been honoured by the
scurrility of one who never spared merit in the living
or the dead ; argues, that if a tree is to be known by its
fruits, the conduct of Luther proved that his mission
could not be from God ; and condemns some of the
dangerous doctrines of the reformer, — doctrines which,
as he truly said, were subversive of all morality. In a
rage, Luther retracted whatever he had advanced in the
hope of a reconciliation ; wondered how he could have
been so stupid as to imagine that virtue could dwell in a
court, the peculiar seat of the devil ; and expressed his
resolution thenceforth to spare no mortal man, however
high in dignity. Yet he was persuaded by his zealous
disciple, the landgrave of Hesse, to make an attempt to

MARTIN LUTHER. 107

appease his old enemy duke George of Saxony, father-
in-law of that prince. But though he had wantonly
and most unjustifiably offended the duke, his apology
was not likely to heal the breach. He expresses his
regret, indeed, for the warmth of his manner, and for
some injurious invectives ; but then the fault lay
not in him, but in his burning zeal for the glory of
God. Though he had been persecuted by the duke, he
forgave all for the sake of peace ; and he begged in re-
turn that prince's favour. Not that he did so through
fear of man : however powerful duke George might be,
he was much less so than the devil, whom the reformer
had opposed during so many years. In conclusion, he
dwells on his unrivalled favour with heaven. " If you
persist in the hatred you have always shown to the
Gospel, I shall be constrained to pray against you ; and
do not think that my praying would be vain : it is
stronger than all the power of hell. If this were not so,
long ago should I have ceased to live. Be assured that
Luther is not a Muntzer." In fact, the brutal invectives
of the reformer towards all his enemies, whom he always
designated as swine or asses, liars or devils ; and his
presumptuous vain glory, did more injury to his cause,
than was in their power to inflict. Nor was his con-
duct in some other respects calculated to remove their
dislike, or even to preserve the favour of his own friends.
His marriage with Catherine Boren, a nun, occasioned
scandal to both. He had vowed chastity at ah age
when he well knew the obligation of the contract, and
was well acquainted with the temptations he should have
to withstand. Whether that vow were a wise one, does
not affect the question : he had deliberately taken it ; it
was consequently obligatory on him for life. To teach
that even a rash vow, so long as its accomplishment does
not interfere with the everlasting welfare of the indi-
vidual, can be broken, is strange morality. If a vow can
be annulled at the mere pleasure of him who has made
it, so, a fortiori, may a promise : hence adieu to all
human engagements, to all social security. The zeal

108 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

with which Luther had assailed monastic vows, and the
favour with which he had regarded the men who
had broken them, were now apparent. Great was the
triumph of his enemies. Not satisfied with his own
sacrilege, he had, they observed, incurred a double
portion of guilt, by prevailing on another to violate the
sanctity of the obligation. His marriage was, indeed,
a most unfortunate measure. It enabled men to say,
that the causes which had led to the reformation were
to be sought, not in the convictions, but in the passions
of Luther. Had he, indeed, felt much regard for the
great work, beyond one purely personal — beyond the
consideration, and the other advantages it procured him,
— he would scarcely have taken a step so disastrous to
his reputation for security, for disinterested honest zeal.
He had soon the mortification to perceive that it dis-
pleased his friends no less than it delighted his enemies.
On every countenance which approached him, even on
that of Melancthon, there was distrust. His own con-
science, however, was the worst pang. For some weeks
after the marriage, he was exceedingly dejected ; until
Melancthon, who had little moral force, began to pity
him, and to palliate, nay even to represent as laudable,
what he had so strongly condemned. For this criminal
indulgence, the disciple's memory must be severely re-
prehended by every unbiassed mind, since his guilt is
only inferior to that of the master.*

1523 While the reformation was thus spreading throughout

to Germany, and Luther was thus disgracing it by his ex-

cesses, neither the pope nor the emperor, neither the

catholic princes nor the clergy, were inattentive to its

progress. In 1523, Adrian sent Francisco Cheregato as

* Authorities : — Seckendorf, Commentarius Historicus ; Sleidan, De
Statu Religionis; Beausobre, Histoire <ie la Reformation; Maimbourg,
Histoire du Lutheranisme ; Lutheri Opera ; Melancthoni Epistolse : Du-
pin, Historia Ecclesiastica; Bossuet, Histoire des Variations ; Mosheim,
Historia Ecclesiastica ; Raynaldus, Annales Ecclesiastic! ; St ruvius,
Corpus Historiae ; Paulus Jovius, Historia sui Temporis ; Heuterus,
Historia ; Locherus, HUtoria Motuum, necnon Acta et Documenta ;
Myconius, Historia Reformationis ; SpaUtinus, Annales ; with others. .

PROGRESS OP' THE REFORMATION. 109

his nuncio to the diet of Nuremberg, to rouse the states
against the Lutherans, by insisting on the execution of
the edict of Worms. In the papal brief which was pro-
duced on the occasion, it was allowed that the court of
Rome had been corrupt ; that abuses had been, and
still were, notorious — passing from the head to the lowest
ecclesiastics ; that a reformation was demanded by the
interests of religion, which could not much longer sub-
sist without it: that, as to the Roman court itself,
Adrian would see to its reformation ; and he hoped that,
the fountain being healed,, the streams would be pure ;
but that, in regard to the great body of the church, he
had need of co-operation from all good Christians.
<f God," observed the pope, " permits this persecution
by the Lutherans, on account of men's sins, especially
the sins of the priests, above the sins of those placed
over the church. The people run astray, because the
priests set the example." Sentiments more honourable
to a Christian bishop were never uttered ; but they had a
bad instead of a good effect. The high church zealots
accused him of ignorance in the art of government, in
disclosing instead of concealing the vices of his prede-
cessors. To the reformers, his confession was a triumph,
since it proved that the abuses which they had so loudly
condemned, were not their own invention. Some declared
that the professions of Adrian were as hypocritical as his
promises, — a true Italian device to elude the redress of
grievances. But Adrian was no Italian ; and to du-
plicity he was a stranger. Nor did the speech of the
nuncio, moderate as it was, escape censure. The re-
formers printed it with the most insulting notes, and
dispersed it among the people. He had the misfortune
to mention Pericles, — what better proof that he was a
pagan ? Even where he endeavoured to rouse the em-
pire against the Turks, by observing that the fall of
Hungary would be followed by that of Germany, he
could not escape insult. " The yoke of the Turks,"
was the remark, " is preferable to that of the papists :
they are less impious, cruel, abominable than you ! " Of

110 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

nearly the same sentiment were many of the princes in
the diet. They were unwilling to enforce the execution
of the decree passed at Worms, first, because it was
impracticable, and next, because, even by the confession
of Adrian, the abuses which had been assailed were real.
They did not omit to thank the pope for his promise of
a reformation ; and they besought him to convoke a
general council in some city of the empire. And that
Adrian might really know what species of reformation
was wanted, what the abuses of which the German na-
tion had most reason to complain, they drew up a list
of seventy-seven grievances, which were subsequently
augmented to one hundred, and are famous in history
as the Gravamina Centum. As in various parts of
the present compendium we have mentioned the more
important, we need not repeat ourselves. Suffice it to
say, that they had no relation to faith or morals ; that
they regarded the exactions of the pope and clergy, the
competency and vexation of the ecclesiastical tribunals,
the justice of placing the clergy on an equality with laymen
before the laws, the abuses of ecclesiastical patronage,
the evils of ecclesiastical censures ; the intolerable amount
of dues rigorously exacted on ah1 occasions.* These were
subjects on which both catholic and the reformed princes
could agree ; and we cannot, therefore, be surprised that,
before the former would sanction the proceedings against
Luther, they should be resolved to have redress : if he
were silenced, who with equal ability and equal courage
could fight their battles? But this resolution, and the
remonstrance which accompanied it, were highly dis-
pleasing to the nuncio, who had hoped that the papal
promise of reformation would be sufficient to procure
the condemnation of Luther. There was something, too,
in the tone of both the gravamina and the remonstrance,
which could not be welcome to a power so jealous of
lay interference, and so eager to uphold the interests of
the order. As neither party would consent to act in

* See them in Brown's Fasciculus Rerum, torn. i. p. 352, &c.

PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION. Ill

concert, the mission of the nuncio was worse than use-
less. Before its separation, however, the diet, in con-
formity with ancient custom, appointed another to meet
at a certain period, in the same city of Nuremberg.
Had the emperor been present, it would not, probably,
have thus separated ; and had Adrian lived, much
might have been expected from his excellent intentions,
and from his firmness of character. But the hopes of
the Christian world were blighted when Clement VII.,
a prince of the detestable house of Medici, ascended
the pontifical throne. When the time of holding
the diet arrived, none of the princes, and but few of
the deputies, were present. Attendance, under such cir-
cumstances, was certainly no pleasant duty. Many
members, through fear of compromising themselves
with the pope, the emperor, or their own party, artfully
interposed every possible delay, and raised disputes on
minor affairs with the view of diverting the attention of
the body. At length the diet was opened, in January,
1524. Charles, who was then in Spain, was present
by an imperial commissary, who had instructions to re-
concile, if possible, the two parties ; to grant something
to both; to insist, with the Lutherans, in the reform-
ation of abuses, but with the catholics to demand the
suppression of dangerous opinions. To urge the exe-
cution of the edict, cardinal Campegio was despatched
by Clement to Nuremberg. Nothing can better illus-
trate the fermentation of the public mind, than the fact
that the legate was dissuaded by the princes from
making a solemn entry into the city, in the fear that he
would be ill-treated by the populace ; not even the clergy
would welcome him, until he appeared among them.
In his oration to the diet, he urged the execution of the
edict ; but, in return, he was asked whether he had au-
thority to remedy the Hundred Griefs. As Clement had
resolved to acknowledge no corruption in the church,
to elude a general council and the redress of every
grievance, he could answer only by an evasion, which
exasperated the princes. But the commands of the

112 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

emperor that the edict should be executed ; the urgent
entreaties of Ferdinand, whom the emperor had ap-
pointed lieutenant-general of the kingdom ; the ab-
sence of the Roman catholic bishops, and the danger
to be apprehended from the tenets of the anabaptists —
forced the members to adopt some resolutions in regard
to religion. Postponing, as usual, to the next diet, the
consideration of the new doctrines, they agreed to exe-
cute the decree, but only in so far as they were able ;
and that the Gospel should continue to be preached in
each state with purity and modesty, and according to
the sense of the most approved doctors. The clauses in
question invalidated the decree, and were evidently framed
so as to favour both Roman catholics and Lutherans.
Nor was even this nugatory concession made without
the demand of a general council, and a redress of griev-
ances. In other respects, there was no unanimity. The
imperial cities, of which most were Lutheran, were
opposed to the bishops and electors ; the counts and
most of the rural nobility were no less hostile to them ;
and while the deputies and princes thus contradicted the
superior college of the electors, all three were torn by
internal dissensions. In fact, the difference of religion,
added to that of temporal interests, which had always
distracted the Germanic diets, rendered union hopeless.
The proceedings of this diet were offensive to the pope,
who liked not the remonstrances of the princes, nor the
demand of a general council, nor the project of another
assembly at Spires, convoked for the affairs of religion ;
and they were so to the emperor, who condemned most
of them, and maintained that they were invalid. That
they were equally displeasing to Luther, appears from
the fury with which he assailed them. He called, in
his usual manner, beasts and devils, all who ventured to
enforce the edict of Worms ; he deplored the blindness
of those who opposed the Gospel, or listened to Rome ;
and he exhorted the states not to undertake any war
against the Turks. But there was little need for this
violence : he had surely more reason to be satisfied with

PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION. 313

the diet than his enemies. At this very time Cam-
pegio, despairing of any good resolution from a general
diet, was prevailing on Ferdinand to form at Ratisbon
a league of catholic princes in defence of their religion.
It consisted of the archduke himself, of two Bavarian
dukes and one prince, of the count palatine, of the car-
dinal archbishop of Saltsburg, and of the bishops of
Trent, Augsburg, Spires, Bamberg, Strasburg, Con-
stance, Basle, Brixen, &c. Originally, their object
appears to have been purely defensive, — to preserve in
their respective districts the ascendancy of the ancient
faith ; to allow none of their subjects to study at Wit-
temberg. After the revolt of the anabaptist peasants,
the views of the league drew them into direct hostility
with the reformers. They boldly threw the whole
blame on Luther and his associates, dwelt on the per-
secutions which they and their people suffered from the
innovators, and called on the emperor to interpose his
authority in their behalf. The Lutherans were not
without alarm. At Pavia, Charles had defeated his
enemy Francis ; his aversion to the reformation was
well known ; and it was expected that he would now
use all his influence to extirpate it. In self-defence,
they formed at Turgau (1526), a centre league, at the
head of which were the elector of Saxony and the
landgrave of Hesse. The margrave of Brandenburg,
who had resigned the grand mastership of the Teutonic
order, who had seized Prussia, which belonged to the or-
der, as a patrimonial fief, and embraced the reformation,
was not directly named in the league; but his support was
sure. At the same time the diet was held at Spires; but
as the emperor was still absent, and as the two parties
were perpetually in distrust of each other, what could
be expected from it ? If by one party the execution of
the edict of Worms was demanded, by the other it was
derided. Circumstances were highly favourable to the
Lutherans. As the Turks were already in Hungary,
and might soon be in Germany, the catholic princes

VOL. III. I

114 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

could not crush them in the field : as Charles had to
wage war with the pope, the Venetians, and the French,
he, too, was not to be feared. Under these circum-
stances, it is not wonderful that these two parties agreed
to defer their religious disputes unto the next general
or national council to be held in Germany, or until the
emperor, the pope, and the princes should come to
some amicable understanding among themselves. Suc-
cours were voted to the Hungarians, contrary to the
opinion of Luther, who at this very time asserted, in a
treatise, that to resist the Turks was to resist God. But
on this occasion the vote was of no avail ; Louis king
of Hungary was signally defeated and slain by the
infidels. As Louis left no children by Maria, the sister
of the emperor, Hungary and Bohemia, in accordance
with the compact made by Maximilian, fell to the
archduke Ferdinand, as the husband of Anne, the only
sister of Louis. Bohemia received him without dif-
ficulty : part of Hungary offered to him a rival in John
de Zapolya, vaivod of Transylvania ; but he had many
adherents, and he was soon enabled to expel his rival
from the kingdom. This circumstance was most au-
spicious to the reformers, whose assistance, they easily
perceived, would be necessary to maintain Ferdinand on
the throne ; and that assistance they determined to re-
fuse, unless their religious independence were secured.
At this crisis, while the Turks were making formidable
preparations for the invasion of Hungary, and probably
of Germany, the elector of Saxony and the landgrave
busily collected forces. What was their object ? Evi-
dently to spread their religion by force of arms, under
the pretext that its toleration was menaced. For the
moment, as the pretext was found to be erroneous, they
were appeased ; but they had the joy to perceive that
they could at any time terrify their enemies by a levy
of troops. Had the reformers been united among them-
selves, they would have been above a match for the
Roman catholics ; but being divided into two, or even

PROGRESS OP THE REFORMATION. 115

three, great sects, more hostile to each other than even to
their common enemy, they were generally disputing, and
branding each other with the most opprobrious epithets.
Their chief differences regarded the real presence in the
sacrament, — a doctrine which whoever denied was
called a devil by Luther, and whoever received it was
stigmatised as an idolater by the Zwinglians. No rage
could equal Luther's at seeing the most important
cities in Upper Germany receive the novelties of the
Swiss reformer, who was now joined by Berne, Con-
stance, Geneva, Basil ; in fact, he had the mortification
to see half his empire usurped by the Zwinglians and the
anabaptists. Many were the efforts made by the more
moderate of the two parties to prevent an open rupture ;
and in this respect the influence of Philip, the land-
grave of Hesse, was beneficially exercised. They agreed
to send deputies, who should act in common, into the
approaching diet of Spires, convoked chiefly for aid
against the Turks. It was opened in March, 1529.
Though the emperor was still absent, he caused his
representatives to complain of the decree passed at
Spires in 1 526, — a decree which, as being irreconcile-
able with the edict of Worms, he declared null. En-
couraged by his support, the catholic princes now
demanded that the edict should be enforced, and that
the princes or cities, who refused submission to it,
should be placed under the ban of the empire ; but the
opposition raised by the elector of Saxony, the land-
grave, the margrave of Brandenburg, and the deputies
from the imperial cities, immediately caused its re-
jection. The next object of the catholics was to divide the
Lutherans and the sacramentarians, as the Zwinglians
were generally termed. If the former could be made
to join in the proscription of the latter, in time they too
might be assailed to advantage. And when it was pro-
posed with Strasburg, which divided alike the religion
of Lutheran and catholic, and which, in fact, tolerated
neither, the Lutherans at first showed no disinclination
to it, nor to include all the sacramentarians in the same
i 2

llO HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

sweeping ruin. A decree was accordingly drawn up,
that the anabaptists should be proscribed ; that the doc-
trine contrary to the real presence of Christ in the eucha-
rist should not be tolerated in any state of the empire ;
that the mass should every where be preserved ; and
that no ecclesiastic — meaning no Lutheran or catholic
ecclesiastic — should disturb another for his belief, until
a council, or a diet with the emperor at its head, de-
cided otherwise. This proposal to suppress at once the
anabaptists and the sacramentarians was a master-stroke
of policy on the part of the catholics. It was, how-
ever, soon penetrated by the Lutherans, who suddenly
refused to sanction the decree, especially as it was
worded in such a manner as indirectly to condemn some
of their own opinions, no less than those of the sacra-
mentarians. The catholic princes insisted; the reformed
princes and deputies remonstrated, and soon delivered in
a formal protestation against it. Hence their celebrated
denomination of PROTESTANTS, dated from the diet of
Spires, April 19. 1529- In that remarkable instrument,
they asserted that the decree of the preceding diet at
Spires, which connived at toleration until a general
council met, having been made unanimously, it could only
be unanimously abrogated : that they could not accede
to the present without wounding their consciences ; that
as the popish mass, — their own, however, differed
little from it, — was contrary to Scripture, they could
not frequent it themselves, nor would their consciences
allow their subjects to be present; that, though they
knew Christ's body to be present in the sacrament, they
could not condemn the anabaptists and sacramentarians,
who were not summoned or heard ; that the clause
which stipulated that the Gospel should be preached only
according to the interpretation of the church, they ap-
proved, but this approbation did not remove the dif-
ficulty, since there was a dispute which of the churches
was the true one. This Protestation was signed by
John, elector of Saxony ; by George, margrave of
Brandenburg ; by Ernest and Francis, dukes of Lunen-

PROGRESS OP THE REFORBIATION. 117

berg ; by Philip, landgrave of Hesse ; by Wolfgang,
prince of Anhalt ; and by the deputies of fourteen cities,
— Strasburg, Nuremberg, Ulm, Constance, Reuttingen,
Hidesheim, Melingen, Lindau, Kempten, Heilbrun,
Isny, Weissenburg, Nordlingen, and St. Gall.*

The open dispute between the Lutheran and catholic 1529,
princes; the critical situation of the sacramentarians, 1530.
who might at any time be abandoned by their reformed
brethren ; and the danger which threatened both — ren-
dered the chiefs of each sect anxious to merge their
minor differences in some common bond of union. This
anxiety was, above all, shown by the landgrave, who
resolved to effect a meeting between the Lutherans and
Zwinglians. For this feeling we may easily account ;
he was already secretly inclined to the opinion of the
sacramentarians on the real presence, and he feared that
the Lutherans would ultimately be persuaded to abandon
their brethren, whom they detested even more than they
did the papists. But to the proposed meeting Luther
was averse : in his own phraseology, the Zwinglians were
infidels and devils ; nor could he see what good could
result from communicating with them. At length,
however, both he and Zwingle agreed to a conference
at Marburg ; the former attended by Melancthon,
the latter by CEcolampadius and others. Since both
were known to be jealous of their authority as the
heads of their respective sects, it was resolved that they
should not be immediately opposed to each other, but
that Luther should encounter CEcolampadius, and

Gravaminfe Centum Nat.ionis Germanise (apud Brown, Fasciculus

ranisme, liv. i. et ii. Beausobre, Histoire de la Reformation, torn. iii.
et iv. liv. 5 — 8. Uaynaldus, Annales Ecclesiastic!, A. D. 1523 — 1529.
Mosheim, Historia Ecclesiastica, cent. xvi. sect. i. cap. 2. Spalatinus,
Annales (sub annis) ; necnon Vitie aliquot Electorum Saxoniae, p. 1114 —

118 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

Melancthon Zwingle ; and through the caution of the
landgrave, they had a friendly conference before the day
fixed for the first public disputation. Such, however,
was the jealousy with which the two. chiefs regarded
each other, that their courtesy must have cost them
a severe effort. Yet so anxious, were the sacrament-
arians to gain the alliance of the Lutherans, that they
showed much condescension in regard to original sin,
baptism, justification by faith, absolution, purgatory, and
other points on which they differed. But the nature and
design of the eucharist was a subject on which they
diverged too widely to afford the hope of a junction.
During three days the dispute was continued with ani-
mation ; but, judging from the report of the proceed-
ings, with no great erudition. Evidently both parties
were ignorant of what had been written on this mo-
mentous subject from the time of Paschasius Rad-
bertus* to that of St. Anselm, and even of Thomas
Aquinas. Luther attempted to prove that, if the cele-
brated words of our Saviour, This is my body, were not
delivered in a literal sense, then all the commentators from
the apostolic times must have been in deplorable error ;
and he more than hinted the presumption of Zwingle, in
venturing thus to oppose an individual interpretation
to the consent of so many fathers and doctors. This
argument, however, was a two-edged sword, as dan-
gerous to the one as to the other. If Zwingle were not
to be allowed the privilege of private interpretation,
what became of Luther's own plea against the Roman
catholics ? The truth is, as one of his own party has
observed, though he preached that the Scriptures alone
were sufficient to salvation, and that the right of inter-
preting them equally belonged to all men, he insisted
that every body should find in them just what he had
•found; the moment any one presumed to explain a
passage different from himself, from that moment the
rash critic was branded with the most opprobrious

* See Europe during the Middle Ages, vol. iv. Cab. Cyclo.

PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION. 119

epithets. He wrote, indeed, a passionate treatise in
behalf of Christian liberty ; but no despotism was ever
more galling than his liberty. He suffered no dissent,
either in discipline or doctrine; and though the case
was precisely the same in regard to the anabaptists and
Zwinglians, none was so openly intolerant as himself
In vain did Zwingle endeavour to show that the words
had a figurative meaning ; that the bread was a sign of
Christ's body : Luther would scarcely hear him with
patience. The words, he observed, were positive ; the
obligation to receive them in their literal sense was
imperative ; and if the elements, after consecration,
were not in reality Christ's body, of what avail was the
rite ? whence the sacrament? In this case, the manduca-
tion became a simple act of commemoration, of no more
use than an ordinary meal. Without receiving the real
presence, no man could be united with Christ; conse-
quently no man could be a Christian ; and from this
belief the devil should not seduce him. There was
much hot disputation ; and had not the landgrave
been present, probably something more than a war of
words might have followed. With whom the advantage
of the argument lay would be useless to enquire : we
may, however, observe, that whether the consubstan-
tiation of Luther be or be not founded in Scripture, he
was the abler disputant ; indeed, if Melancthon is to
be credited, Zwingle and his coadjutors exhibited, in
many instances, the grossest ignorance. The landgrave
was now anxious to separate them ; for it was evident
that the longer the contest was maintained, the less
chance of harmony. In one respect Zwingle and his
colleagues had the advantage, — in preparing to sepa-
rate in brotherly charity. Both parties, he said, agreed
in the fundamental principles of Christianity ; and in
others they might surely have charity for each other :
they might even be united under the common denomin-
ation of reformers and brethren. The reply of Luther
is characteristic. He wondered what sort of consci-
ence could be theirs, who agreed to receive men pro-
i 4

120 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

fessing, as they thought, heretical doctrines, into fellow-
ship ; who neglected to excommunicate even heresy
wherever it could be found. As for charity, indeed,
that he might grant them, since he was compelled to
show it to his worst enemies. All that could be effected
was an agreement, that in the present circumstances of
the times they should refrain from open hostility. — In
contemplating this and other disputes in which Luther
was engaged, we cannot refuse him the praise of pro-
found policy. What he had once asserted, he would
never recall. Like the Roman catholics, he maintained
that an authority, to be implicitly followed, must be
unchangeable, and held to be infallible ; and to such
infallibility no pope ever laid greater claims. " The
Swiss," he observed, ' ' revoke every thing ; I, nothing ! "*
1530. From Bologna, the emperor had convoked a diet
at Augsburg, in the view of forcing the two parties to
peace, that both might be at liberty to turn their arms
against the common enemy of Christendom. He en-
tered Augsburg in June, 1530, and the assembly was
immediately opened. It was attended not only by the
German princes and deputies, but by the most eminent
theologians, protestant and catholic — Luther alone being
forbidden to appear in the emperor's presence ; but by
the orders of the elector he remained at Coburg, to be
consulted in case of need. This diet is celebrated for
the first Confessions of faith ever presented to the world
by the protestants as a body. They were three in
number, — one from the Lutherans ; one from the
sacramentarians, inhabiting the four cities of Strasburg,
Memmingen, Lindau, and Constance, and generally
known as the Confession of Strasburg ; and the third
from the Zwinglians. Of these, the first, which is the
most important and elaborate, was drawn up by Me-
lancthon, — no doubt, because, he had more of the
Christian spirit than his colleague, and because he had
not compromised himself in former treatises. The

* Chiefly the same authorities.

PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION. 121

articles of which it was composed were read in presence
of Charles and the catholic princes. They embraced
both the subjects on which the two parties agreed, and
those on which they differed. The former were, of
course, approved by the catholic divines, to whom the
emperor referred the examination of the articles ; the
latter were numerous, though fewer and less violent
than we should have expected from the writings of
Luther. In fact, as they were framed with the hope
of conciliating the good will of the rival church, by a
man whose love of peace led him farther than con-
science could always approve, we need not wonder that as
far as possible, they were studiously assimilated to the ca-
tholic tenets. The real presence in the sacrament, with-
out transubstantiation ; justification by faith alone; the
number of sacraments ; the invocation of saints ; com-
munion under both kinds — were the points chiefly dis-
cussed in the Confession. The manner, however, in
•which these and other matters were explained, was, in
some respects, so much milder and gentler than was to
be found in the writings of Luther, that the Roman
catholic divines began to suspect the sincerity of the
declaration, and to demand whether the present were
•all the articles of difference between the two churches ;
and if so, whether the reformers would hereafter un-
shrinkingly adhere to them. The demand was not
unreasonable ; but it could not be satisfactorily an-
swered. They to whom it was addressed, knew that
there was diversity of opinion on some of the articles,
which, in fact, had been framed for the occasion,
but which, when that was past, any of the divines
might revoke. Nor did they like to close the door
against future improvement, by irrevocably binding
themselves to the present act. The reply, that it con-
tained nearly all that they judged necessary to salvation,
was evasive ; but the catholic theologians, affecting to
regard it as complete and final, undertook its refutation.
As might have been expected, the protestants pro-
ceeded to refute the refutation by another writing, an

122 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

Apology for the Confession ; so that an interminable
theological controversy was the only result which pro-
mised to signalise the diet of Augsburg, had not the
emperor interfered. His object was to coerce the dis-
sidents, especially as he perceived them to be at war
with each other, and for that reason the less likely to
agree with himself. But most of the catholic princes
knew the force of their enemies too well to expect much
good from coercion ; and they procured his permission
to try whether an approach, at least, to uniformity, might
not be attained by a private conference. When from
the number of the disputants, confusion alone followed,
seven individuals were chosen from each party. It is
singular, that at one time there was something like an
agreement on that portentous article — justification by
faith. Contrary to the principles of Luther, the pro-
testants acknowledged that faith, and even good works,
had some portion of merit ; the catholics, that man was
justified by faith. It is evident, however, that each
did not assign the same meaning to the word ; for
while the former received it in a special or even super-
natural sense*, the latter conceived it to imply the
sum of Christian belief and duty as taught in their own
church. On some other points, there was a greater
approximation to harmony. It was the opinion of
Melancthon, as of many others, that the reconciliation
would have been effected, had not the interests and
passions of men intervened. The princes and nobles
who had usurped the property of the church, the eccle-
siastics who had returned to the world and married,
the cities which had thrown off the jurisdiction of
the bishops and abbots, were resolved that no recon-
ciliation should be effected ; even had the two parties
agreed as to doctrine, the separation from Rome must
no less have taken place. " Non credis," says Me-
lancthon, " quaii to in odio sim Noricis et nescio quibus
aliis, propter restitutam episcopis jurisdictionem: ita de

* See the early part of the present chapter.

DIET OP AUGSBURG. 123

suo regno, non de Evangelic, dimicant socii nostri."
Yet, though this great and good man, — for such he
was, — defended the restoration of the episcopal juris-
diction, he had few willing hearers; on the contrary,
the Nurembergers and the rest had the better in
the argument ; for temporal aggrandisement has been
the curse of every prelate, — in an especial degree
of the Germanic, the most corrupt and abominable
under heaven. But certain it is that their opposition
was not one of knowledge or of principle ; it was solely
dictated by that basest of considerations — self-interest.
Seeing that there was no hope of an agreement, the
emperor and the catholic princes drew up the decree
of Augsburg, which was intended to effect by force
what conciliation had attempted in vain. It neither
denied nor dissembled the abuses which had for ages
disgraced the church ; but it promised that the emperor
would prevail on the pope to call a council for their
reformation ; it called on the dissidents to unite with
the Roman catholics, until the voice of that council
should be heard ; and it gave them a few months to
consider whether they would consent to such union,
distinctly intimating that, unless they did, the sword
alone muse decide which of the two parties should have
the ascendancy. In the mean time they were ordered
not to make proselytes, not to molest their catholic fel-
low countrymen, not to write against any article of the
ancient faith, not to admit any more novelties in doc-
trine or discipline ; they were exhorted to assist the
catholics in suppressing the heresies of the anabaptists
and sacramentarians. Finally, most of the reformed
doctrines, such as justification by faith alone, were pro-
hibited.— The prot^stant princes and deputies were not
alarmed at this decree, or the menaces which accom-
panied it : in fact, the meditated violence was disap-
proved even by some ecclesiastical princes, as calculated
only to exasperate those whom it would be impossible to
subdue. It may, however, be doubted whether the
majority of the catholic princes, or even the emperor,

124 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

meditated, at present, the exercise of force : many of
them declared that their object was purely defensive ;
that they wished only to procure their brethren in the
protestant states the rights of conscience, and to hinder
the more pestiferous opinions of the reformers, especially
such as regarded free will, justification by faith, civil
and ecclesiastical government, — opinions which the
recent disturbances proved to be incompatible with social
security, — from being more widely diffused. And to
remove much of the odium generated by the abuses of
their church, the ecclesiastical princes passed, with the
consent of the papal legate Campeggio, some excellent
decrees for the conduct of the clergy.*

1530 If Charles expected that menaces alone would have
to any effect on the reformers, he was soon undeceived ;

1533. jje foun(j tjjat some Of them were eager to thwart his
purposes, both as to the aggrandisement of his own
family, and as to the war with the Turks. He had
long contemplated the election of his brother Ferdinand
as king of the Romans. Such an election was demanded
by the interests of the empire ; for Charles was gene-
rally absent. The elector of Saxony, whose feelings
•were hurt by the contempt of the catholic princes,
resolved not to be present at the diet assembled for the
decision. He sent his son, however, to oppose the
election, while he met at Smalcald the heads of the
Lutherans, whom he formed into a league for the de-
fence of their persons and religion. Such a union was,
indeed, necessary ; for Charles had thrown himself into
the arms of the catholics, and was waiting the course of
events, perhaps to fall on them, certainly to weaken

* Authorities : — Spalatinus, Vitae aliquot Electorum Saxonte ; Secken-
dorf, Commentarius Historicus : Pallavicini, Historia Concilii Tridentini ;
Maimbourg, Histoire du Lutln'ranisme ; Sleidan, De Statu Religionis
Commentarius; Beausobre, Histoire de la Reformation ; Putter, Historical
Developement ; Raynaidus, Annales Ecclesiastic! ; Dupin, Historia Eccle-
siastics. ; Schmidt, Histoire des Allemands ; Mosheim, Historia Eccle-
siastica ; Plouquet, Dictionnaire des H£r£sies, art Luther, Melancthon ;
Coxe, House of Austria ; Struvius, Corpus Historia; ; Heuterus, Annales ;
Guicciardini, Istoria ; Goldastus, Constitutions ; Cochla'iis, Vita Lutheri ;
Loscher, Acta et Documenta ; Chrytrteus, Saxonia ; Jovius, Historia
sui Temporis; with many others, in pages too numerous to be parti-
cularised.

LEAGUE OP SMALCALD. 123

them by force or intrigues. The league of Smalcald
has ever since been celebrated in the history of Ger-
many. It was formed, however, in opposition to the
former opinions of Luther, which declared, that the
Gospel was not to be supported by arms ; that God
would defend His own people ; that in all cases resist-
ance to the civil magistrate was sinful. But now he
had discovered that even the civil law sanctioned, under
certain extreme circumstances, resistance to the ma-
gistrate ; and he had only to plead his past ignorance
of the fact, in justification of his change. On their side,
the sacramentarians, having refused all communion
with the Lutherans, and justly fearful of being aban-
doned by them, also entered into a league, with the
landgrave of Hesse at their head. And in Switzerland,
the catholic andprotestant cantons flew to arms : Zwingle,
who had all the qualities of a saint militant, fell in
battle; and grief brought (Ecolampadius to the tomb, —
if, indeed, as Luther assures us, he was not beaten to
death by the devil in person. — Notwithstanding the
opposition of the elector of Saxony and his party, Fer-
dinand was elected king of the Romans. But this was
all the triumph Charles could acquire. If ever he had
seriously meditated war against the dissidents, the pro-
gress of the Turks in Hungary would have deterred
him from the project. The protestants did not scruple
to assert that, unless toleration were granted them, so
far from aiding him against those barbarians, they
would join Solyman against him. Nor was this all :
though the imperial chamber had been ordered by the
emperor and diet of Augsburg to proceed against all
persons who had usurped the lands of the clergy and
monks ; and never to desist until the usurped property
was restored, with ample indemnification, to the right
owners — the protestants would not hear of restitution.
They disregarded all the citations of the court, and
declared that, if attempts were made to execute its de-
crees, force should be met by force. The situation of
the emperor was critical : if he enforced the decrees of

126 BISTORT OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

the chamber, he added the protestants to his Moham-
medan enemies'; if he neglected the duty, he alienated
his own party, the whole catholic church and the pope.
As usual, though doubtless with more than usual re-
luctance, he leaned towards his enemies, hoping that
the difficulties of his situation would lessen his guilt in
the eyes of his friends. He caused overtures of recon-
ciliation to be made, through the mediation of the arch-
bishop of Mentz and the elector palatine, to the elector
of Saxony and the landgrave, as the heads of the pro-
testant league ; and though the latter refused to admit
the mediation unless all proceedings in the imperial
chamber were quashed, he yielded. Yet this step did
not immediately procure peace : many articles were to
be proposed and discussed before the protestants would
consent to act with the catholics against the Turks ;
and the negotiations were more than once suspended.
Every day showed more clearly, that on the alliance or
hostility of the reformers depended the stability of the
imperial throne; the independence — perhaps the exist-
ence— of the nation. Of this fact they were sufficiently
convinced ; and they resolved to make it serve their
views by insisting on other conditions which had never
before occurred to their minds, — conditions which con-
siderably circumscribed the imperial prerogative, and,
above all, the influence of the Austrian house. At length,
however, peace was concluded at Nuremberg ( 1 532), and
the chief conditions were, that a general council should
soon be convoked to settle the affairs of religion ; that
the Lutherans should retain their present power and
privileges, but should not proceed to greater innovations
in faith or discipline, nor force the subjects of catholic
princes to take refuge among them, nor send mission-
aries into catholic states ; that they should not support
the anabaptists or Zwinglians ; that all proceedings in
the imperial chamber should cease. In regard to the
other articles, which were so humiliating to the house
of Austria, they were withdrawn for the present, but
with the protest that they should be brought for-

PEACE OF NUREMBERG. 127

ward at a more favourable conjuncture. — In all these
proceedings we must sincerely condemn., first the pro-
testants, whose demands were outrageous, and who
insisted on retaining their sacrilegious plunder ; and
next the emperor, who, by consenting to suspend all
processes against the robbers, sacrificed the most ob-
vious principles of justice, and abandoned the poor
and the oppressed to the scoffs of the wicked and the
powerful. There can be no doubt that he resolved at
a future opportunity to recal the concessions which had
been wrung from him ; but this consideration cannot
surely excuse him, since it proves that he could be de-
ceitful as well as unjust. Duplicity, in fact, entered
largely into his moral composition at this period of
his life ; but as the passions cooled, as ambition lost
its empire, as disease assailed him, and as a future
judgment approached, he forsook his crooked policy. —
On the present occasion it answered his purpose: to prove
that their friendship was as valuable as their opposition
was to be feared, the protestant princes voted the most
ample supplies against the Turks; and Charles, who was
enabled to march into Hungary at the head of a for-
midable army, constrained Solyman to retreat. On
his return, he forsook, as usual, the affairs of Italy for
those of Germany and Spain.*

During the next few years there was no open hos- 1533
tility between the two religious parties; though both to
regarded each other with distrust, even with abhorrence,
and each looked forward to no distant triumph over
his adversary. But there was dissension enough.
In the first place, there was much disputation as
to the meaning of the articles concluded at Nu-
remberg. The catholic princes, under the pretext
that, if no man was to be disturbed for his faith, or
for things depending on faith, he was still amenable
for certain offences against the church, which were
purely of a civil nature, were eager that the imperial
chamber should take cognisance of future cases, at least,
* The same authorities.

128 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

where protestants should seek to invade the temporalities
of the church : probably even, as some allege, they wished
the proceedings to be retrospective in certain cases. But
nothing was effected ; the tribunal was too powerless to
enforce its decrees. In 1534, the protestants, in a public
assembly, renounced all obedience to the chamber ; yet
they did not cease to appropriate to themselves the pro-
perty of such monasteries and churches as, by the con-
version of catholics to their faith — and that faith was
continually progressive — lay within their jurisdiction.
We need scarcely observe, that the prospect of spoliation
was often the most powerful inducement with the princes
and nobles to change their religion. When they, or
the magistracy of any particular city, renounced the
faith hitherto established, the people were expected to
follow the example : the moment Lutheranism was esta-
blished in its place, the ancient faith was abolished ;
nobody was allowed to profess it ; and, with one com-
mon accord, all who had any prospect of benefiting
by the change, threw themselves on the domains of
the expelled clergy. That the latter should complain
before the only tribunal where justice could be ex-
pected, was natural ; nor can we be surprised that the
plunderers should soon deny, in religious affairs, the
jurisdiction of that tribunal. From the departure of
the emperor to the year 1538, some hundreds of do-
mains were thus seized, and some hundreds of com-
plaints addressed to him by parties "who resolved to
interpret the articles of Nuremberg in their own way.
The protestants declared, in a letter to him, that
their consciences would not allow them to tolerate any
papist in their states ; nor allow any one to retain pro-
perty which was now forfeited to the true professors of
the Gospel. " And your majesty may be assured,"
was the conclusion, " that we shall render a better ac-
count of this property than the people who call them-
selves a church, and who have never had the least right
to their worldly possessions." This language was suffi-
ciently explicit ; since it declared that the church had

VIOLATION OF THE COMPACT. 129

never had the least claim of justice to its endowments.
In another respect, they broke the treaty of Nuremberg :
they used every means to draw the catholic princes into
their community ; they openly extolled the advantages
they enjoyed ; and declared that they would receive with
open arms, and defend against all the world, every one
who should leave the errors of popery for the pure truth
they had embraced. These, and similar infractions of
the treaty, made them sensible that they should ul-
timately be opposed, and they hastened to consolidate
their strength. By espousing the cause of the exiled
duke of Wittemberg, they procured a powerful ally. In
1519, the duke had broken the public peace by laying
siege to an imperial city ; and had been expelled by the
league of Swabia. On the dissolution of that league in
1533, Ulric, who was supported by the king of France
and by the landgrave of Hesse, collected a body of
25,000 men, and forcibly regained possession of his
duchy, which had been in the hands of Ferdinand. In
return for his own recognition by the protestant chiefs,
and to avert an open war, Frederic proposed to recog-
nise the restored duke. The condition was accepted ;
and Ulric, now enrolled among the saints, lost no time
in commencing the work of plunder. But a greater
advantage was the union of the sacramentarians with
the Lutherans. Of such a result at the diet of Augs-
burg there was not the least hope ; but Bucer, being
deputed by the imperial cities to ascertain whether a
union might not be effected, laboured so zealously
at the task that it was effected. He consented to
modify some of his former opinions ; or, at least, to
wrap them in language so equivocal that they might
mean any thing or nothing at the pleasure of the holder.
The Swiss, indeed, especially those of Zurich, refused
to sanction the articles on which Luther and Bucer had
agreed. Still, by the union of all protestant Germany
under the same banners, much was gained ,• the cause
was strengthened ; the reformers were able to withstand
their opponents. — In the mean time, the dissensions

VOL. III. K

130 HISTORY OP THE GKRMANJC EMPIRE.

between the two great parties augmented from day to
day. To pacify them, Charles sent fruitless embassies.
Roused by the apparent danger, in 1538, the catho-
lic princes formed, at Nuremberg, a counter league
to that of Smalcald : in it they disclaimed all in-
tention of molesting the protestants ; but they engaged
to support each other, and to defend their subjects,
against the perpetual encroachments of the reformers.
The jealousy of both was so sensitive, the agitation of
the public mind so feverish, that attempts to conclude a
durable peace were frequent ; and mediators from both
sides were eager to hasten so desirable an end. But the
demands of the reformers were of a nature to shock the
religious prejudices of their rivals. They insisted on
permission to appropriate to their own use the substance
of any church or monastery that had been or might
hereafter be suppressed ; that they should remain un-
molested in the possession ; consequently, that all legal
proceedings should for ever be annulled. But the de-
mands the most offensive were, that, while none of them
would permit the Roman catholic religion to be pro-
fessed in their own districts, they would have pro-
testants in the catholic states to enjoy perfect liberty of
conscience ; that the priests or monks, who married
should not suffer any legal disability even in those
states ; and that their children should be declared le-
gitimate. The Lutherans were emboldened to use this
decisive language by the daily augmentation of their
league of Smalcald. The death of Luther's old enemy,
George duke of Saxony, transferred the dominion
of that prince's states into the hands of a Lutheran.
Henry duke of Brunswick was now the only great
secular prince in the north of Germany, who adhered
to the Roman catholic faith ; and, in his apprehension
lest he should be expelled, he hastened into Spain, to
acquaint the emperor with the alarming progress of things.
All that the latter could do, was to enjoin his brother
Ferdinand and his ambassadors to prevent an open
rupture, and, if possible, to procure a truce on favourable

RELIGIOUS DISSENSIONS. 131

terms to his own adherents. A truce was concluded
at Frankfort, in 1539 ; but it could not remove the
existing animosity, which was daily augmented. Both
parties were in the wrong. If the protestants broke —
as they assuredly did break — their treaty with the
emperor, the Roman catholics were always eager
to turn the influence of the government against
their enemies, — whether with or without reason,
gave them little concern. Nothing could be more diffi-
cult than to hold the scales of justice even between the
two ; but, though Charles was a bigot to his own
opinions, and detested the new doctrines, he had too
much need of the protestants to wantonly insult them.
Diet after diet, colloquy after colloquy, was held, in the
hope that the two parties could be persuaded, if not
wholly to cease, at least to suspend, their shameful
dissensions. Both Charles and Ferdinand never lost
sight of the possibility that the dissidents might be
brought back into the bosom of the church. At the
close of 1540, Worms was the scene of a conference
very different from that where, twenty years before.
Luther had been proscribed. There was an intermin-
able theological disputation, in which attempts were
made to define the meaning of terms, and, by a cri-
minal latitude of interpretation, to embrace both parties
in the same religion. As little good resulted, Charles,
who was hastening from the Low Countries to his
German dominions, evoked the affair before a diet at
Ratisbon, in April, 1541. These colloquies were very
offensive to the Roman court, which always condemned
the interference of the laity in the affairs of religion,
yet Campeggio was present. Paul III., who had
ascended the pontifical throne in 1534, differed from
his worthless predecessor in this — that he had a de-
sire for the reformation of abuses. — The diet of Ra-
tisbon was well attended ; and never did prince exert
himself more zealously than Charles, to make peace be-
tween his angry subjects. But though there was, as
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132 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

usual, much scholastic disputation, — to the edification,
no doubt, of veteran soldiers, who opened their eyes at
the frequent mention of free will, grace, the merits of
congruity and of condignity, — all that could be obtained
was, that things should be suffered to remain in their
present state until a future diet, or a general council.
The reduction of Buda, however, by the Turks, ren-
dered king Ferdinand, his brother, and the whole of
Germany, eager for an immediate settlement of the
dispute, that the combined forces might be led against
the advancing misbelievers. Hence the diet of Spires
in 154-2. If, in regard to religion, nothing definitive was
arranged, except the selection of Trent as the place most
suitable for a general council, one good end was se-
cured, — supplies for the war with the Turks. The
campaign, however, which passed without an action,
was inglorious to the Germans, who appear to have
been in a lamentable state of discipline. Nor was the
public satisfaction much increased by the disputes of
the Smalcald league with Henry of Brunswick. The
duke was angry with his subjects of Brunswick and
Breslau, who adhered to the protestant league ; and
though he had reason enough to be dissatisfied with
both, nothing could be more vexatious than his conduct
towards them. In revenge, the league of Smalcald sent
19,000 men into the field, — a formidable display of
protestant power ! — and Henry was expelled from his
hereditary states, which were seized by the victors. He
invoked the aid of the imperial chamber, which cited
the chiefs of the league; but as, in 1538, the com-
petency of that tribunal had been denied in religious, so
now it was denied in civil matters. In their own jus-
tification they alleged, and apparently not without
reason, that, as the members of that chamber were
of a different faith, and as its constitution had not been
amended in accordance with the imperial promise, they
could not expect justice from it, and were not bound to
yield obedience to it. The former objection, however,

RELIGIOUS DISSENSIONS. 133

would have applied, with equal force, to the whole Ger-
manic frame of government ; to Charles, as emperor,
no less than to the great functionaries. To demand
the reform of the tribunal was a duty ; to reject an au-
thority constituted by the ancient laws of the empire,
was treason. In the diet of Nuremberg, at which Fer-
dinand was present, they endeavoured to justify their
proceedings in regard to duke Henry and the chamber :
and declared that, unless the justification were approved
—unless, too, some other demands were conceded — they
would furnish no assistance against the Turks. They
ended with asserting, that all the troubles of the times
were judgments on the empire for opposing the pure
doctrines of the reformation. Ferdinand and the im-
perial commissioners replied, that in regard to religious
differences, the measure so long requested — the con-
vocation of a general council — was already adopted ;
that the judges of the chamber could not be deposed,
unless convicted of some crime ; and that the duke of
Brunswick had a right to sue for justice. These an-
swers were specious, but they were not wholly founded :
the imperial chamber had certainly sacrificed justice to
party feeling ; and duke Henry deserved punishment.
But though this fact mitigates, it does not remove, the
guilt of the protestants, who ought to have sought the
remedy of their grievances in a constitutional manner,
and who certainly were powerful enough to obtain it in
that way. But violence and usurpation were preferred.
In reference to the general council, they declared that
they would not recognise its authority, nor be present
at it. This may seem, and in reality is, inconsistent
with the demand which for thirty years had been made
of such a council, and with the promise to obey its de-
cisions ; but yet, how could they recognise it ? From
the temper alike of the Roman court and the catholic
world in general, they saw that it must be hostile to
their doctrines and discipline ; that it would be an en-
gine of assault in the hands of their enemies ; and they
had no other alternative than to reject it. In fact, they
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134 HISTORY OF THE OEBMANIC EMPIRE.

would have been satisfied with no council not composed
exclusively of protestants.*

1543 The following years exhibit on both sides the same
to jealousy, the same duplicity, often the same violence
' where the mask was no longer required, with as many
ineffectual attempts to procure a union between them.
The Turks were always dreaded ; therefore the aid of
the protestants was always wanted ; and it had always
to be bought by concessions. In the diet at Spires
(1544), they were so offended because their demands
were not unconditionally granted, that they threatened
to deliberate no more. Yet the catholics accused Charles
of going on all occasions much too far, — of sacrificing
his friends to appease his enemies. In some respects
this accusation was unjust. In demanding the sup-
pression of the imperial chamber, the reformers were
wrong ; but they had a right to stipulate that one half
of the members should be of their own faith. If, in
conceding this important improvement, the emperor
offended the bigots, he acted with justice and wisdom :
in return he procured supplies against the Turks and
the constant ally of the Turks, the king of France. Re-
ligious matters were postponed to the ensuing diet ; but
all processes in the court were suspended. By the
catholics, and above all by the pope, he was severely
condemned, for admitting heretics to deliberate on the
discipline and temporalities of the church. But he per-
severed in his design. His immediate objects were
two ; — that the catholics should approve the projected
change in the constitution of the imperial chamber ; and

* Sleidan, De Statu Religionis Commentarius, lib. ix — xv. Dupin, His-
toria Ecclesiastica, lib. ii. (variis capitulis . Pallavicini, Historia Concilii
Tridentini, torn. i. lib. 3, 4, 5. (multis rapitulis). Spalatinus, Vitze Elec-
torum Saxonis, p. 1148. Arnoldus, Vita Mauri tii Electoris Saxonis,
p. 1164, &c. (apud Menckenium, Scriptores, torn. ii.). Mosheim, Historia
Ecclesiastica, sect. i. cap. 3. et 4. Pfeffel, Histoire ChronoloRique,
torn. ii. (sub annis). , Raynaldus, Annales Ecclesiastic! (sub annis). Maim-
bourg, Histoire du Luthtfranisme, liv. iii. Schmidt, Histoire, torn. vi.
et vii. liv. 8. Coxe, House of Austria, chap. 30. Putter, Historical De.
velopement, vol. i. sect. v. chap. 5. Struvius, Corpus Historia?, pars x.
sect 4. Chrytraaus, Saxonia, lib. xv. &c. Jbvius, Historia sui Temporig,
lib. 30 — 40. Heuterus, Historia (sub annis). Seckendorf, Historia, lib. iv. —
vii. Oamerarius, Vita Melancthonis, passim. Loscher, Acta et Documenta,

PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION. 135

that the protestants should acknowledge the council of
Trent; which had been long convoked, but which the wars
between France and the emperor prevented from assem-
bling. Of the former he had reasonable hopes ; but
that the latter was impossible, was so evident, that we
may admire at the pertinacity with which he urged it.
It seemed as if all his cares, all his labours to promote
peace, should be useless : when on the point of attaining
a present good, some accidental circumstance always in-
tervened to frustrate it. The minds of both parties
were in such a state of effervescence, that a slight affair
raised them to frenzy. But the progress of events con-
tinued to favour the reformers. They had already two
votes in the electoral college, — those of Saxony and
Brandenburg; they were now to have the preponderance;
for the elector palatine and Herman archbishop of
Cologne abjured their religion, in thus placing at the
command of the reformed party four votes against
three. But this numerical superiority did not long re-
main. In regard to the archbishop, the step was as
illegal as it was extraordinary. Though he introduced
the Lutheran divines into his diocese, his clergy still
adhered to the ancient faith ; and as by his conversion
he had forfeited his archiepiscopal dignity, by what
right could he claim the electoral, which was inseparable
from it ? He ought instantly to have resigned both ;
but both he hoped to preserve through his co-religionists.
As the chapter, however, appealed to the emperor and
the pope ; and as in consequence he was cited by the
latter to appear at Rome in sixty days to answer the
charge of heresy ; and as the former, by a special instru-
ment, took the clergy of Cologne under his protection,
the league of Smalcald durst not openly receive him :
they could only promise to interfere in his behalf. But
on this subject the emperor was decided. The pope ex-
communicated the archbishop, deposed him from his
dignity, and ordered the chapter to proceed to a new
election ; and when Herman refused to obey, Charles
sent troops to expel him, and to instal the archbishop
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136 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

elect, count Adolf of Nassau. Herman retired to his
patrimonial states, where he died in the profession of
the reformed religion. These events mortified the
members of the Smalcald league ; but they were soon
partially consoled by the capture of Henry duke of
Brunswick, who had the temerity to collect troops, and
invade his patrimonial dominions. Their success gave
umbrage to the emperor, who could not behold without
apprehension the progressive augmentation of a power
which threatened the existence alike of the catholic
party and of the imperial authority, or at least the
prosperity of the Austrian house. It was abundantly
evident that, owing to the exaggerated claims of the one
party and the bigotry of the other, an appeal must soon
be made to the sword ; but with an infatuation of which
there are few examples in history, the emperor persevered
in expecting a union from colloquies, or, as he called
them, friendly consultations. One at Ratisbon (1546)
having ended like all the rest, he convoked a diet at that
city, and with exceeding difficulty prevailed on the pro-
testant princes to be present either in person or by their
ambassadors. One reason for the step was, the know-
ledge he had acquired, that these princes were in com-
munication with the hereditary enemy of Germany, the
king of France, from whom they had demanded, and who
in fact had promised, succours of money and men. The
prospect of a civil war, sustained by the most unprinci-
pled of his enemies, and even by the dignitaries of the
catholic party, made a deep impression on his mind. He
knew that the confederates had already 20,000 men
under arms, and that they were actively, however secretly,
augmenting their forces. His first care was to cause
troops to be as secretly collected in his hereditary states ;
his second, to seduce, if possible, some leaders of the pro-
testants. With Maurice duke of Saxony he was soon
successful ; and eventually with the two margraves of
Brandenburg, who agreed to make preparations for a
campaign, and join him at the proper moment. The
motive of these princes appears to have been a well-

RELIGIOUS WAR. 137

founded apprehension, that the elector of Saxony, the
count palatine, and the landgrave were resolved to rule
the rest of protestant Germany at their pleasure ; per-
haps, by the aid of the French king, to erect inde-
pendent sovereignties for themselves in the centre and
north of the empire. On his side, Charles was equally
insincere in his public professions. His convocation of
the diet at Ratisbon, which after a vain parade ended
in nothing, was only to hide his real designs. As he
began to throw off the mask, the reformed theologians
precipitately withdrew ; and both parties took the field,
but not until they had each published a manifesto to
justify this extreme proceeding. In each there was much
truth, and more falsehood.*

Into the details of the war which followed, we will 1546
not enter. The result was important. Though the to
confederates were greatly superior in number, in a IBB8,
single campaign, which must be regarded as one of the
most astonishing in modern history, he dissipated their
armies, and took every city which he summoned: but
most of them voluntarily submitted, and were pardoned
on two conditions, — the renunciation of the Smalcald
league, and a heavy fine. The elector of Saxony and
the landgrave, the count palatine and Ulric duke of
Wirtemberg, sued for peace, which was refused unless
they unconditionally surrendered. The two former
resolved to await the fortune of another campaign. The
count, with whom Charles had been united in the bonds
of friendship, escaped on the promise of future obe-
dience, and of forsaking his allies ; in addition, the duke
was heavily fined, and subjected to severe humiliations.
But disastrous as was this campaign, there was still hope
for the reformers : in Saxony, the elector, aided by his
allies, obtained a signal victory over a general of
Charles ; the Bohemians not only refused to fight
against their co-religionists, the Lutherans, but openly
rebelled ; Francis urged the confederates to keep the

* Chiefly the same authorities.

HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

field, and the Turks to make a diversion in their favour.
Alarmed by this intelligence, Charles opened the
second campaign, which was equally glorious with the
first. Having penetrated into Saxony, he expelled the
elector from the banks of the Elbe, pursued, defeated,
and took him prisoner. In his rage, and little ob-
servant of the constitutional forms of the empire, which
demanded that the accused should be tried by his equals
at a public diet, Charles condemned his captive to
death ; but from this disgraceful extremity he was
saved by the remonstrances of his allies. The prince,
however, was compelled to renounce the electoral
dignity, both for himself and his descendants ; to
surrender his fortresses, and his seignorial rights
over three cities ; to join in future no hostile league
against the emperor or the emperor's allies ; and to
remain prisoner during the pleasure of the victor.
In return, an annual revenue of 50,000 florins was
secured to him and his children. The abdicated dig-
nity was immediately conferred on prince Maurice.
Nothing now remained but the reduction of the land-
grave, who, having no hopes from resistance, consented to
yield at discretion, — the monarch assuring him that
his life and liberty, his dignity and wealth, should be
respected. But he was scarcely in the victor's hands,
when he was committed to prison. This violation of
his word casts everlasting disgrace on the memory of
Charles ; and it deeply offended his friends, especially the
new elector Maurice, who had married the daughter of
the landgrave. His proceedings at this period unequi-
vocally prove that he had resolved to extirpate the new
religion, and to erect an imperial despotism on the
ruins of Germanic liberty. This design was to many
apparent in the diet of Augsburg ; but as it was ne-
cessary to proceed with caution, his measures did not
create much sensation. For the maintenance of that
tranquillity which he had happily obtained for his peo-
ple, two things, he observed, were indispensable, —
union in religion, and the restoration of the imperial

COUNCIL OF TRENT. 139

chamber, with such improvements both as to its oper-
ation, and the laws by which it was to decide, as were
demanded by circumstances. In the first of these ob-
jects, he expected much from the council of Trent,
which had met and decided on some important points
of faith ; but a little experience dissipated the hope.
The pope and the cardinals refused to enter on the re-
formation of abuses, until the points of faith were esta-
blished ; while Charles insisted that the former should
have the precedence. He well knew that, after the doc-
trine of the church should be declared, to which no
protestant would pay attention, there would be no dif-
ficulty in evading the reformation so long and loudly
demanded by catholic and protestant. But Paul,
who preferred his own interests to that of the church
universal, was obstinate ; and to have the proceedings
of the council more completely under his control, he trans-
ferred it from Trent to Bologna. Charles was disappoint-
ed in his expectations from this quarter, yet he was not
without hopes that he could procure the return of the fa-
thers to Trent, and the ultimate redress of grievances. In
the mean time, as his influence was so much increased by
his recent success, he reverted to his old expedient of a
colloquy. As neither he, nor the catholics who acted with
him, would sacrifice one iota of doctrine, all that he
could hope to obtain was, first, a reformation of dis-
cipline ; and in the next place, by affixing a wider lati-
tude to terms, to include both in the same community
of religion. As before, theologians on both sides were
selected ; and this time, especial care was had that they
should be moderate men. Some of the catholics were
willing to allow the ecclesiastics who had married to
retain their wives, but not that future marriages should
be celebrated ; and they did not refuse the cup until
the pope or a council general should decree otherwise.
In regard to the sacraments, a studied ambiguity of lan-
guage was adopted ; while, on some points, minor con-
cessions were made, and on others there was utter silence.
But the general character of the articles was one of

140 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

duplicity ; and they practically lead to the inference,
that so long as men joined in subscribing to certain
propositions drawn up in the loosest possible language,
they might believe what they pleased. If, in the main,
they were conformable to the doctrines of the ancient
church, they were yet reprehensible for investing in
studied obscurity, principles which, if true, cannot be
too clearly inculcated. Though these concessions were
slight, they offended the bigots, who in addition de-
nounced that the sequestrated property of the church
should be restored ; and they did not satisfy the pro-
testants, who, however, chose to be silent for the present.
Of the princes belonging to the reformed communion, the
elector Maurice was the only one that refused to sign
the articles. They were in number twenty-six, besides
some regulations for discipline ; and they were pub-
lished under the name of the Interim, as articles which
should be observed until a general council decided on
them. The emperor was in hopes that he should be
able to procure their sanction from the pope, the car-
dinals, and even the council, and that they might con-
sequently remain of perpetual obligation. In this,
however, he was deceived : though the pope did not
openly condemn them, his forbearance may be traced to
his conviction that the protestants themselves would
reject them ; and he did not wish wantonly to exasper-
ate, or unnecessarily to embarrass, one whose mo-
tives were undeniably good. The foresight of the
pontiff was justified by the event : several of the pro-
testant states refused to accept the Interim. — In the
restoration of the imperial chamber, the emperor en-
countered less opposition. Fearing the disputes which
might arise in regard to the presentation of assessors,
he prevailed both on catholics and protestants to sur-
render, for this time only, and without prejudice to
their future suffrage, the privilege of nominating them.
His object was to make this supreme tribunal' more
dependent than it had ever yet been on the throne ;
but he was constrained by the voice of the diet — of his

THE ELECTOR MAUKICE. 141

friends no less than his enemies — to make such im-
provements in the modes of procedure, as to render it
impossible to be converted into an engine of tyranny.
At the same diet, other improvements, to which we shall
hereafter advert, were effected in the internal admi-
nistration ; but, in his eagerness to incumber the mu-
nicipal authority, to destroy its democratic character,
he showed that he was resolved to stretch his prerogative
to the utmost. At heart he was a despot ; and willingly
would he have trampled on the forms and spirit of the
constitution oftener than he did, had not German free-
dom been too powerful to be assailed with impunity
even by him. If he won an advantage one day, it was
sure to be wrested from him the next. Of this fact,
the Interim furnishes us with an illustration. By some
imperial cities, which terror rendered mute for a time, it
was received in silence ; by others, with open murmurs ;
by a few it was vigorously resisted. These, joining
themselves to the states which had equally rejected it,
opposed to its execution a mass of resistance, which the
imperial officers, after the departure of Charles for
the Low Countries, were unable to remove. Even
Maurice of Saxony was resolved to elude it — nay, to
destroy it; though policy taught him to proceed with
caution in his opposition. Under the pretext of re-
ducing Magdeburg, which not only refused to receive
the Interim, but expelled every part of the Romish com-
munion, he advanced, with the emperor's consent, against
that city ; but assuredly not in the design, as he could
not have the hope, of making any impression on its bul-
warks. His object was to prolong the siege until he
should be prepared to throw off the mask ; and while he
was soliciting safe-conducts for certain protestant theo-
logians to the council, which Julius III., the successor of
Paul, had transferred to Trent, he concluded with the
French king an alliance against the emperor. In du-
plicity, Maurice was equal to Charles ; and he was not
much troubled by gratitude. He had certainly reason to
be offended both with the severe treatment of his father-

142 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

in-law the landgrave, and with the persecution of his
religion ; but from his general conduct we have no dif-
ficulty in discovering that these considerations were
much inferior to his ambition. Though rumours of his
disaffection reached the ears of the emperor, he had
sufficient artifice to destroy their influence. Soon he
admitted Magdeburg to an honourable capitulation ; de-
spatched his theologians to Trent ; sent an ambassador
and two councillors to Inspruck, where Charles then
was, to announce his speedy arrival for the purpose of
satisfying his sovereign of his fidelity ; and he actually
left as if for that city. But sickness, as he said, obliged
him to return ; and after some hollow negotiations with
Charles, hearing that the Turks were again in motion,
he took the field, in consort with the young landgrave
of Hesse and the margrave of Brandenburg.*

1552 The pretexts which Maurice assigned for his conduct
to were threefold, — the persecution of his religion, the

1555. infringement by the crown of the Germanic liberties,
and the captivity of the landgrave his father-in-law.
All were founded in justice ; though this fact does not
palliate his duplicity, his ingratitude, and his inordinate
ambition. The campaign opened, Augsburg was taken,
and several cities which had belonged to the league of
Smalcald sent supplies to his camp. Pretending, how-
ever, to sanction a truce, until a diet were assembled at
Passau, he marched with celerity on Inspruck, at a time
when he knew the emperor was unsuspicious of danger,
and unprovided with troops. The latter, though tor-

* Heuterus, Historia; necnon Annales (sub annis). Sagittarius,
Historia Joannis Friderici, sect. 5 — 17. Thuanus, Historia sui Tern,
ppris, lib. ii. — x. Chrytraeus, Saxonia, lib. xv. xvi. Loscher, Acta et
Documenta, passim. Goldastus, Constitutiones (passim). Adamus, Vita
Melancthonis ; necnon Epistola? Melancthonis et Lutheri (passim). Ar-
noldus, Vita Mauritii Elertoris, p. 1167—1225. Sleidan, De Statu Re-
ligionis Com. lib. xv.— xxiii. Dupin, Historia Ecclesiastica, cent. xvi.
lib. 3. (variis capitulis). Pallavicini, Historia Concilii Tridentini, torn. ii.
lib. 11, 12, 13. Raynaldus, Annales Ecclesiastic! (sub annis\ Pr'effel,
AbregiS Chronologique (sub annis). Mosheim, Historia Ecclet.iastica,
cent. xvi. sect. i. cap. 4. Robertson, History of Charles V. vol. iii.
(4-to edit.). Maimbourg, Histoire du Lutheranisme, liv. 4. et 5. Schmidt,
Historia, torn. vii. liv. 9. chap. 12 — 15. Struvius, Corpus Historia;, pars x.
sect 4.

HUMILIATION OF CHARLES. 14-3

men ted with the gout, had time to flee. In a few days
the diet was assembled, and was attended by the am-
bassadors of France, whose king had declared war
against Charles ; by those of the emperor ; and by several
princes and deputies from the cities. Nobody was
louder in his reprehensions of the emperor than the
French ambassador, who dwelt at much length on the
attachment of his master to the Germans, and his de-
sire to free them from the yoke of Spain : yet at this
very time the French king was subduing Lorraine, with
Metz, Toul, and Verdun, — evidently with the consent
of the insurgents.* These transactions, with the removal
of the council from Trent, opened the eyes of the em-
peror. He saw, that in labouring to effect a union
between the two religions, he had through the greater
part of his life been pursuing a chimera ; and he re-
solved to interfere no more with matters of faith. The
catholic princes appear to have been of the same opinion,
for now all joined in the cry for peace. Hence a pro-
visional treaty was concluded at Passau. The con-
ditions were, that the landgrave should be set at liberty
(Charles had already freed the old elector of Saxony) ;
that the present elector and his confederates should dis-
band their forces ; that the Interim was for ever an-
nulled ; that protestants should not be excluded from
the imperial chamber ; that they should remain in pos-
session of the ecclesiastical property they held, until a
future arrangement ; that in twelve months a diet should
be assembled to treat finally on the peace of the church ;
and that during this period there should be no quarrel
about religion. As Albert of Brandenburg, however,
refused to accept the treaty, and committed papal de-
predations on several cities, Charles took the field against
him ; but in a few weeks concluded a treaty with him
also. By so doing, he at once surprised and alienated

* This fact has been carefully suppressed by the French writers, and
consequently by such English ones as follow them alone. See Ku.-stll's
" History of Modern Europe," vol. ii. letter 63. Historians have more
to answer (or than any other class of writers.

144 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

Germany : it was his duty to punish the rebel, yet that
rebel he secured as an ally in his projects against the
French king. The truth is, he was tired of fighting
the battles of Germany ; and if he now made war on the
king of France, his motive was the defence of his here-
ditary dominions in the Netherlands. At this moment
he had, doubtless, meditated his approaching abdication ;
a retreat from a nation which thanked him not for his
pains. The refusal of the states to elect his son Philip
as his successor to the German throne, had sunk deeply
into his mind : an unsuccessful assault on Metz, and his
increasing infirmities, tended still more to disgust him
with public life. Before his retirement, however, he
wished to leave the empire at peace, and in this view
he continued his labours of pacification. Albert of
Brandenburg, though allied with the emperor, was not
satisfied : he had looked to a considerable augmentation
of territory ; had forced two bishops, during the recent
commotions, to make him some important concessions ;
and when, on the return of temporary tranquillity, they
refused to be bound by the act, he took the field. By
ihe imperial chamber, he was placed under the ban,
though he proved that his treaties with the prelates had
been sanctioned by the emperor, — a proof that the in-
fluence of Charles was for ever departed ; other princes,
who had their complaints, and who longed for the par-
tition of his states, combined against him ; Maurice of
Saxony headed the forces destined to humble him ; and
in the battle of Silverhausen he was vanquished, but he
had the pleasure to see his enemy Maurice fall in the
action. In a short time, however, he was expelled from
his states, and driven into France. The severity with
which he was treated, — yet he richly deserved his fate,
— was owing to a general suspicion that in his rebellion
he was encouraged by the emperor, who hoped by his
means to humble Maurice. Every day showed Charles
the extent of his unpopularity. The protestants he had
mortally offended, partly by his violence, more by his

THE RELIGIOUS PEACE. 145

duplicity ; the catholics he had alienated by his inter-
ference in the affairs of religion, and by his superior
favour to the dissidents ; the princes and cities of the
empire he had exasperated by several acts of capricious
tyranny. In this state of things, the diet of Augsburg,
after some delays, assembled ; and in conformity with
the treaty of Passau, the princes and chapters proceeded
to draw up the articles of a perpetual religious peace ;
but such was the contradiction which the greater part
experienced, that Ferdinand, who presided in the place
of his brother, prorogued the diet to the following
year. In the interim, however, he exerted himself by
his letters, and by conferences with the ambassadors of
the princes, so much, that when in the following year
the diet re-assembled, some difficulties were remov-
ed. Yet many remained ; and it was not until
many conferences were held, many entreaties and re-
monstrances used with the leaders of both parties,
that the articles of a religious peace was framed, and,
after some modifications, subscribed by both. The prin-
cipal were, that neither emperor nor catholic prince
should attempt to call back protestants into the bosom
of the church, nor protestants force catholics to re-
nounce the ancient faith ; that every prince should have
the power of establishing, in his own state, which of the
two religions he pleased ; that, though toleration depends
on the will of the prince, subjects who profess a faith
differing from him may retire into any other state ;
that if a Roman catholic ecclesiastic abandon his faith,
he shall lose his dignity or preferment, which shall
be immediately conferred on another, but that his re-
putation and civil privileges shall remain untouched ;
that protestant ministers shall retain possession of their
benefices, and protestant princes the right of adminis-
tering the property of the church as at present ; that no
catholic bishop shall have jurisdiction over those who
follow the Confession of Augsburg ; that the imperial
chamber shall do justice to both parties equally ; that
the members returned to it, not excepting even the grand

VOL. III. L

146 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

judge, may be protestant as well as catholic ; that these
conditions remain inviolable until a general council, or
a national one, or a diet, or a conference of the two
parties, decide otherwise. To one of these articles,—
that which provided that every Roman ecclesiastic, on
passing over to the Confession of Augsburg, should forfeit
his dignity or benefice, — the Lutherans were highly
averse ; and even when their consent was given, it was
with a protest that it was contrary to- their wishes,
though, for the sake of peace, they would withdraw their
opposition. Yet what could be more reasonable ? If a
catholic bishop, for instance, forsook the religion of his
flock, had he any right to retain the rank or the re-
venues ? were these not the undoubted right of his suc-
cessor ? What would the protestants have said, had
their rivals proposed so monstrous a thing ? Nor were
they less unreasonable in demanding for a while an-
other concession, — that, in catholic states, protestants
might be permitted to worship God as they pleased.
Had they allowed such toleration in their own states,
the demand would not have been unreasonable ; but as
they declared that they could not, consistently with their
consciences, and their regard for the souls of men, per-
mit the profession of any other creed than their own,
on what pretext could it be advanced ? The catholics
retorted, by observing that they had a belief as strong,
a conscience as sensitive, as their opponents ; that they
were no less determined to suppress error. There was,
however, a remedy against religious persecution ; since
the man who embraced a faith differing from the esta-
blished, could leave the state, and settle in any other
where his own opinions were professed.*
1546. Luther did not live to see this pacification ; he died on
the 18th of February, 1546. His character has been
judged diversely; yet, if impartially examined, it may
be more clearly understood than any other in all history.
That he had many estimable qualities ; that he had a
burning zeal for religion, a rare disinterestedness, un-

* Chiefly the same authorities.

CHARACTER OP LUTHER. 147

impeached morals, incorruptible integrity, an unshaken
patriotism ; that he was always courageous, averse to
war, and anxious to promote the temporal no less than
the spiritual well-being of the people ; are facts which,
though many of his enemies have denied, have been
acknowledged by the more candid. That his passions
were impetuous, his vanity unrivalled, his fanaticism
extreme, his intolerance equal to that of the worst
popes, his jealousy of all rivals intense, his hatred of
all opponents immitigable, his ideas often coarse, his
language offensively vulgar ; that he had little of the
mild spirit of true religion, — that religion which softens
and sanctifies the heart ; are facts equally indisputable.
In addition to the examples which we have adduced in
these pages, let us select a few more of such as are
calculated to throw light on his character and motives.
— Of his fanaticism, or, if the reader please, his con-
viction that he was divinely commissioned to reform
the religion of the world, we have another signal evi-
dence in his letter to the bishops. " The curses of the
pope and the decrees of the emperor," he said, " de-
stroyed in him every trace of the character impressed
by the beast of Rome ;" yet, as he ought not to be with-
out some title, he assumed, by divine command, by
especial revelation, that of Ecclesiast of Wittemberg ;
and in this character he decreed by the grace of God.
He wished all the world — especially the bishops and the
devil, whom he generally classed together — to learn that
Jesus Christ had established him as a new and supe-
rior authority in the church of God. Nor was this a
vain assumption ; in virtue of it, he not only ordained
ministers, but he consecrated one Nicolas Arundorf to
the see of Naumberg. If he thus assailed bishops, he
poured the vials of his fiercest wrath on the popes ;
yet with a coarseness, sometimes a buffoonery, offensive
to his more rational disciples. " The pope is so full of
devils,, that he cannot spit out or blow his nose without
emitting them."* To Paul III. he applies some ele-

* We omit the most disgusting of his figures. ^

L 2

148 HISTORY OF THE GER5IANIC EMPIRE.

gant epithets: — " My little Paul! my little pope ! my
little ass ! move gently on the ice, or you will break
your leg ! you .will spoil your fine clothes, so that every
body will say, '• Who the devil is this ? how the little
pope has spoilt his finery ! ' ' In another place he
observes, " An ass knows that it is an ass ; a stone that
it is a stone ; but these asses of popes do not know that
they are asses ; ergo, they are more stupid than beasts
or stones." — " I am no ass; I am more learned in the
Scriptures than the pope and all his beasts put toge-
ther."— "• Would that I were master of the empire !'
I would tie the pope and his cardinals in one bundle,
and throw them into the Tuscan sea ! Such a bath —
believe me and Jesus Christ ! — would cleanse them
thoroughly." In some of his epistles he exhorted all
mankind to treat the pope like a wild beast, and plunge
their daggers into his heart. All the defenders of
the pope, were they even kings or Cesars, should be
treated like the followers of some freebooter, — like the
most odious banditti. Even the year before his death
he published a book, with the title Against the Roman
Pontificate established by Hie Dev.il ; and in the fron-
tispiece there is a representation of the pope with asses'
ears, surrounded by imps, of which some are placing
the triple crown on his head, others dragging him by
the feet downwards to hell. — With equal scurrility did
he oppose his literary and religious enemies, Henry of
England and Erasmus of Rotterdam, no less than popes,
bishops, and friars. Every term of offence, of which
ass, devil, liar, pia, were the most frequent, was ap-
plied with unsparing hand ; and woe to the man who
had any peculiarity of person ! Henry VIII., with his
fat guts, was a swine ready for the knife. But omitting
his individual controversies, which fill us with un-
mingled disgust, what can be more hostile to Christian
charity than his attacks on whole bodies of men, whole
sects, whole churches ? All the sacramentarians, for
instance, were in a state of damnation ; all hastening
to join Dathaa and Abiram : to hold communion with

CHARACTER OF LUTHER. 14.9

*hem, even in the ordinary intercourse of life, was t«
. ssociate with devils, and to incur their guilt. The
. .evil was within and without, before and behind, above
and below them, on their right hand and on their left.
To the last month of his life he bore the same antipathy
vj this sect. " Happy I," he exclaimed, in one of his
fast letters, " who have not been in the council of the
Sacramentarians, nor walked in the paths of the Zwin-
glians, nor sat in the seat of the people at Zurich ! "
Against the Roman church, as we have often seen, his
rage was the more bitter, because the more personal.
Even the fathers and saints of the ancient apostolic
church did not escape his censure : all were fools ; ail
ignorant of St. Paul's true meaning, — a meaning vouch-
safed to no one before himself. — Of the manner in
which he assailed the monks and friars, we could
adduce examples enough ; but no reader could bear
his terms when assailing the continency of the mo-
nastic orders. Let it suffice to observe, that he boldly
called it an impossible virtue, — no less impossible in
either sex, than to change that sex. Nor did the sanc-
tity of the marriage bed escape his obscenity : in one
of his public sermons at Wittemberg, he exhorts hus-
bands whose wives refuse or delay the debitum con-
jugate, to take the nearest handmaid, — Hagar for
Sarah, Esther for Vashti. In the same feeling,
he permitted the landgrave of Hesse to have two
wives at the same time. Of this fact there can be no
rational doubt, however it has been disputed by those
who prefer piety to truth. Philip of Hesse was always
a debauchee ; and under the pretext that one wife was
insufficient, and that he was perpetually living in sin,
he applied to Luther, Melancthon, and Bucer, for a
dispensation to marry his favourite mistress. He ob-
served, that, while indulging in a known crime, from
which he could not and would not abstain, how
approach the sacramental table ? The Jews of old
had been allowed a plurality of wives, — why not
he ? Had the permission been explicitly revoked ?
L 3

150 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

No subject could be more delicate than this. If the
landgrave's request were granted, how great the tri-
umph of the catholics, who had so often and so suc-
cessfully exposed the tendency of some Lutheran tenets !
If it were refused, should the reformers not fear the
execution of his threat, that he would no longer sup-
port their cause — that he would join the emperor and
the pope ? After a consultation, in which a distinction
was artfully drawn between a universal law and an
individual dispensation ; in which the example of the
ancient patriarchs was adduced, but declared to be evil,
inasmuch as it might allure a ferocious nobility to follow
it ; in which some godly exhortations were made that
his highness would in future abstain from fornication ;
they allowed him to many his mistress — but lest
scandal might be given, in the most secret manner ; that
the few persons present should be engaged to silence
under the seal of confession. In consequence of this
permission, given as it was, by the theologians of Wit-
temberg, under the form of a dispensation, Philip mar-
ried Margaret de Saal, with the full concurrence of his
wife Christina of Saxony. Heartily do we wish that
Luther could be cleared of this foul reproach ; but the
proofs seem too evident to be disputed. — Of his per-
sonal character enough. That his doctrines led to
laxity of morals, is a truth acknowledged, with sighs,
by Melancthon, not in one passage of his letter, but in
a hundred. He declares that there was no longer any
discipline ; that every man did what seemed right in
his own eyes ; that canons were despised ; that few
understood, or cared to understand, in what the re-
formed differed from the ancient religion ; that all men
embraced the former, solely because it released them alike
from submission to authority, and the obligation of
morals ; and that, unless the divine mercy interfered,
he did not see how the reformation could stand ; how
society could be held together. " The authority of
our ministers," he observes in another place, " is wholly
abolished ; every thing decays, and is hastening to ruin.

CHARACTER OF THE REFORMATION. 151

Among us there is not one church where discipline is
observed." He added, that where submission to the
church and the Gospel was preached, the people replied,
" You wish to become the tyrants of the church, which
is now free, to establish another papacy." — " I now
see what it is to be a shepherd of souls ; I comprehend
the error we have committed by our rash judgment, by
our inconsiderate vehemence, in rejecting the papal
authority. For the people, accustomed to licentiousness,
and we may say nurtured in it, has thrown off every
restraint — as if, in destroying the papal power, we had
also destroyed the authority of the sacraments and of
the Christian ministry. Each exclaims, ' I know
enough of the Gospel j of what avail is your assistance
in teaching Jesus Christ ? Preach to them who will
listen to you, and have need of your instructions ! ' "
This confession offers a terrible picture ; yet that it is
not overcharged, is acknowledged by Luther himself,
and by every writer of the times who has occasion to
notice the moral state of society. Whether the same
pernicious tenets do not, in the present day, produce
the same results, we leave to the reader's observation.*
It may, indeed, be replied, that Luther was not the
author or the first expounder of tenets which constitute
his system. To Huss and Wycliffe he was indebted
for many ; as they, in their turn, were indebted to
the more ancient heretics. Thus, when he denied the
free will of man and the resistless force of predes-
tination, he and they followed Gottschalk, who mistook
St. Paul and Augustine. But for his doctrine of jus-
tification by faith alone, — by a special faith, the effect
of divine infusion into the soul, — he seems to have had
no leader. Where the merit of good words, or, in the lan-
guage of the schools, that of condignity, was excluded —

» Lutheri Opera (in a multitude of places). Erasmi Epistolse, lib. 17
18, 19. (variig epistolis). Melancthonis Epistolae ad Camerarium (Opera,
torn. i.). Bossuct, Histoire des Variations, liv. i.— vi. Instructio quod
Doctor Martinus Bucer apud Doctorem Martinum Lutherum et Phillippum
Melancthonom sollicitare debeat ; necnon Consultatio Lutheri et aliorum
fuper Polygamia (apud Bossuet, p. 328, &c. 4to edit. Paris, 16S8.).
Schmidt, Histoire des Allemands, torn. vii. liv. 9. chap. 22.

152 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

nay, where the best were declared to have in them the
nature of sin — they could not possibly be valued.
It was, indeed, taught, that they flow necessarily from
a lively faith ; but if we take the term in its ordinary
acceptation, without regard to its mysterious incompre-
hensible definition, no proposition can be more false.
Hence the tenets of Luther, though contrary assuredly
to his intentions, tend to immorality. With these,
however, civil government would have had little con-
cern, had he not assailed the power of the magistrate
and the authority of the church. To suppose that
the members of any church could be induced, by prin-
ciple or persuasion alone, to observe its ordinances; that,
without a superior power to try and expel offenders,
any rule could long be obeyed, that any society of
Christians could long subsist ; might be consistent
enough with his own wild notions of Christian liberty,
but must be scouted by the common experience of men.
But what are we to say when he assails civil govern-
ment ? when, like his predecessors, Huss and Wyc-
liffe, he represented all government as contrary to the
Gospel, as a usurpation of natural right, as a curse in
every sta.te, as peculiarly injurious to the " saints ?" His
opinions on this subject, as we have before intimated,
being improved by his disciples, led to the reveries of
the anabaptists, and to the disorganisation of society.
" Even," says Erasmus, " if all that Luther has written
were true, a liberty so seditious would much displease
me : I would rather remain in error on some points,
than disturb the whole earth by propagating such
truth." The next evil was, that the new opinions being
taught as the only true ones, — as divinely obligatory on
men, as those from which dissent was in the highest
degree criminal, — an intolerance was diffused, absolutely
inconsistent with the peace of society. Luther would
no more suffer opinions differing from his own, than
the most furious bigots of the Roman catholic commu-
nion. Yet his system was founded on the plausible
maxim that, as divine revelation was made to man, to

CHARACTER OP THE REFORMATION. 15S

each man in particular, so each man has a right to in-
terpret it according to his own judgment. On this
plea he left the church of Rome; but while con-
tending for the right of private interpretation, he would
not allow it to others. So long as any reader found in
the Scriptures exactly what he prescribed to be found,
well ; but to interpret differently from himself, was a
presumption which brought on the head of the unfor-
tunate adventurer a profusion of the coarsest epithets.
No man ever laboured more successfully to diffuse this
abominable spirit of persecution. Before his time, the
Roman catholics were, in this respect, bad enough ;
but he made them a hundred times worse. Truth is
certainly one, and dissent from it may be criminal ;
there may be more responsibility in regard to human
opinion than we generally imagine ; but whoever con-
tends that he alone has found, that he alone teaches it,
that he alone has the right to punish deviations from it,
shows that in presumption, at least, he has some claim
to admiration. But if he proclaim his own infallibility,
mankind may hesitate to admit it ; and if he attempt
to enforce it, there may be a struggle deeply injurious
to society. Nor is this the most prominent view of the
evil. Every reader to whom Luther made the Scrip-
tures accessible, every hearer of the word as preached
by the reformed ministers, felt that, if the fundamental
principle — private interpretation — were just, it was as
much his duty as it was his privilege to " search whe-
ther these things are so ;" and if he discovered a mean-
ing differing from that of his teachers, he was equally
obliged to proclaim it. Hence the number of sects
which, in a few years, overran Germany, Switzerland,
and the Netherlands ; which penetrated into England
and France ; and which, by producing a continued fer-
mentation among the people, paved the way for the
horrible wars of religion that during so many years
desolated the greater part of Europe. Nothing was so
mortifying to the early reformers, as to behold the con-
tinual defection of their own disciples, — men who,

154 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

however illiterate, disputed with them on the explica-
tion of Scripture. If to a madman a sharp sword be a
dangerous weapon ; is the Bible, the most mysterious
book in the universe, less so to an unlearned or a vicious
mind ? Where the wisest and most learned of men
are the least positive, the most humble, the most igno-
rant are always the most presumptuous. This right of
private interpretation has been more prolific of evil
than any principle ever proclaimed by man. In many
cases it has led to fanaticism, in more to absurdity, in
some to open infidelity, in all to a contempt for ancient au-
thority,— for the decisions of the apostolic fathers, and
of the great luminaries of the church. It has generated
the reveries of enthusiasm, while it has destroyed the
sober landmarks of human opinion. Nor, in enumer-
ating the evils resulting from the reformation, must we
omit the increased power it has given to kings in affairs
of religion. W ithout the support of the German princes,
Luther and his associates soon found that they could
not stand ; hence their willingness to admit them into
the management of discipline — even to decide on points
of faith. In all protestant countries, the prince is vir-
tually at the head of ihe church. Whether he has
exercised his patronage with as much attention to the
canons as the pope ; with equal disinterestedness and
penetration; whether his conduct has been as correct, and
his zeal as lively ; we leave the reader to determine.*

But if the reformation has thus produced its evils,
it has also given birth to good which counterbalances
them. Of this, the most obvious point regards the
state of religion itself, alike as a feeling and a prin-
ciple. Let the Roman catholics argue as they please
about the unity and universality of their religion,
the records of the middle ages prove that, in the
majority of men, it was a lifeless tissue of ceremonies,
•which, from their frequency, could not even strike the
imagination ; which made assuredly little impression

* Founded on the various lives of Luther, and the Ecclesiastical History
of the period. See also Schmidt, Histoire, torn. vi. Hv. 9. chap. 22.

CHARACTER OF THE REFORMATION. 155

on the heart; — none whatever on the understanding.
" Assurement," says a candid Jesuit, c quant a la
pratique, la religion a beaucoup gagne a la reforme, par
le soin des protestans a detourner les esprits de 1'exte-
rieur pour les diriger vers le sentiment." It is, indeed,
true that, since the time of Luther, religion has been an
object of the understanding rather than of the eye ; of
the heart rather than of the memory. The repetition
of a prescribed number of prayers, almsgiving, a jour-
ney to some shrine, the veneration of some relic, might,
in former times, satisfy for sin ; but from the sixteenth
century downwards it has been admitted, that, without
true compunction, without reformation of life, such
things are ineffectual and even puerile. In this respect
the Roman catholics have gained as much as the pro-
testants: they have learned spirituality; they have
forsaken their cold, unmeaning, and useless observances,
for a principle — that of divine love — which pervades
the heart ; for knowledge which informs the under-
standing.— In the second place, there has been no less
improvement in the conduct than in the feelings and
reasonings of men. The descriptions which, in various
passages of the present work, we have given of society
prior to the appearance of Luther ; the corruption of
morals both in the clergy and the laity; the worldly spirit
of the ecclesiastics, from the pope down to the humblest
parish priest ; the profligacy of all ranks and conditions
of men ; and their ignorance as to what constituted the
character of Christianity, are proofs of this. The tenets of
the reformation produced vices enough ; but they were
vices less odious than those which previously disgraced
society. As religion was in danger of being smothered
under an accumulated heap of human observances and
opinions, so were morals of perishing through the
boundless licentiousness of the period. In this respect,
too, the present Roman catholic has need to bless the
memory of Luther and his colleagues in the reformation.
Cast our eyes wherever we may, we find an amazing
improvement in the general state of morals : the ag-

156 HISTORY OF THE GERBIANIC EMPIRE.

gregate of all the crimes now committed in Europe,
would not equal those of a single kingdom during the
period which elapsed from the twelfth to the sixteenth
century. Not that in this period, dark as it is, there
were not saints and scholars such as the world has not
seen since, and probably will never see again ; but both
sanctity and knowledge were chiefly confined to the
cloister, and were unknown to the world at large. — In
the third place, the reformation has been exceedingly
favourable to civil liberty. The same principle of cu-
riosity which taught men to examine the grounds of
their faith, urged them, in an equal degree, to weigh
the nature and design of civil government. It was
soon discovered that despotism was founded on igno-
rance; that it had no divine right to support it; that, on
the contrary, it was repugnant alike to reason and the
word of God. If that word inculcated obedience to the
higher powers, it also taught that the poorest and
lowest subjects had rights inalienable and sacred ; that
in the eye of heaven the highest and lowest are equal,
all Christians brethren, coheirs of another and a better
kingdom, equally on earth the objects of the divine soli-
citude. It would be a libel on the ancient faith to
insinuate that these truths were unknown before the
sixteenth century ; the republics of Italy, the commu-
nidades of Spain, and the civil codes of Germany, are
proofs to the contrary ; but it would be equally erro-
neous to suppose that they were generally recognised,
or at least that they had much influence in practice,
before the minds of men were rendered inquisitive by
the change in religion. — In the fourth place, and as a
necessary consequence of this augmented knowledge
alike of religious and political rights, was the increased
stimulus given to individual exertion. Despotism,
whether civil or ecclesiastical, is a sad enemy to social
enterprise, to individual activity. When man perceives
that he has rights which cannot be invaded with impu-
nity, that the profits of his industry are secured to
him by recognised law and custom, he will require no

CHARACTER OF THE REFORMATION. 157

spur to labour; and in proportion as he enriches himself,
so will the state be benefited. Hence the general im-
provement in the social condition of nations ; the spread
of civilisation; the increased comforts of the people;
the elevation of the lowest to some degree of estimation
in the social scale. — Fifthly, the same moral revo-
lution has led to an amazing increase of knowledge.
If, prior to its operation, learning the most extensive
sometimes distinguished intellects the most acute, the
instances were rare, and they could not redeem the age
from the charge of ignorance. To understand the
Scriptures, which catholics and protestants admitted
to be the common fountain of faith, the early reformers
assiduously studied the original tongues, the Hebrew and
Greek ; and the attainment served as a key to other de-
partments of knowledge, — to history, laws, geography,
and antiquities, no less than to theology. Prior to the
sixteenth century, these languages were almost entirely
neglected : will it be readily believed that they were
condemned, not only by ignorant monks and friars, by
half-literate parochial clergy, and by illiterate digni-
taries of chapters, but by doctors of the church, by
universities ? (Yet that such was the fact, is too evident
from the epistles of Erasmus, and from the controver-
sial works of divines. The doctors of Louvain, and
even of Paris, stigmatised the study of the Scriptures
in the original tongues, — in any other than the Vul-
gate, — as the inevitable path to heresy. But this
pitiful hostility soon gave way; the catholics, no less
than the protestants, applied with success to the study
of the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures ; manuscripts
were discovered, and carefully collated, and the divine
text was restored to something like purity. Yet we
must not forget that the reformers were, for a time,
hostile to learning ; even Melancthon, the brightest lu-
minary (Erasmus excepted) of the times, fell into the
melancholy opinion that all books but the Bible were
worse than useless. The truth is, that though the
moral revolution has led to a more cultivated state of

158 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

intellect, it has been undesignedly ; though this im-
proved state is in some degree a consequence, in a far
greater it has been produced in spite, of that revolution.
— Sixthly, and this is the last consideration we shall
notice ; for we have no wish to indicate minor or mixed
causes — the political constitution of Germany was de-
fined by circumstances arising from this great revolution.
The states, both catholic and protestant, roused to en-
quiry by the propagation of the new opinions, and
eager to know on what grounds they might resist the
imperial authority, on what they might pursue a policy
apart from that of the confederation, began to study
the principles of all federative unions, and to weigh
with peculiar care the public law of the empire. It
is certain, that from the reign of Charles, the rights of
states, and the boundaries of the imperial authority, have
been better ascertained than at any former period.*

From these and other considerations interspersed
throughout this compendium, it is evident that, on the
whole, the reformation hrfs*been an incalculable good to
Europe. It has purified religion and morals ; it has
guaranteed civil liberty; it has improved the intellect. Of
its principal instrument, however, we have been com-
pelled to speak in terms of severity. It is, indeed,
difficult to determine whether that extraordinary man
effected more good than evil. Had he never appeared,
the reformation would still have been effected ; for the
clergy were too corrupt to be suffered to remain as they
were ; and some minds, which, like that of Erasmus,
never diverged from the centre of unity, were already
assailing the abuses of the times : nay, even bishops and
cardinals declared that such a state of things could not,
and should not, continue. Never were remonstrances
addressed to the holy see, so dignified in tone, or firm
in manner, as those of Constance and Basle, — the
opinion, let us remark, not of a few individuals, but of
the whole Christian world. The Christian philosopher

* Founded on the histories of the period, and on Schmidt, Histoire,
ubi supr£.

LAST YKARS OP CHARLES. 159

may lament that Luther held opinions so inconsistent with
the Gospel, and with the social duties of man ; he may
wish that greater moderation and greater judgment,
combined with equal zeal and less passion, had been
concentrated in that memorable individual. But let us,
while estimating the motives and character of the re-
former at their real value,, be grateful for the good of
which he has been so immediate a cause.

But let us revert, for a few moments, to the civil
events of the empire during this period.

Charles had always found the crown of Germany one 1555
of thorns. In disgust for royalty, embittered as the to
state was by the opposition alike of his subjects and
of the church, — distrusted by one party of zealots,
hated and insulted by the other, — soon after the pa-
cification which we have related, he resigned the im-
perial crown in favour of his brother Ferdinand. The
instrument of abdication is dated at Brussels, — for,
after his retreat before the elector Maurice, he would
never revisit Germany, — early in 1556; but it was
not received and sanctioned by the diet until the close of
1558. The three intervening years exhibit little that is
important. In 1557, there was, at Naumberg, a colloquy
between the divines of both churches ; and it ended as
other colloquies had done, — in the quarrel and se-
paration of the parties. The object was a union be-
tween the two ; but it was one for which the pro-
testants had no longer any desire, since they had ob-
tained the great end of their struggles and sacrifices.
They had obtained, not merely toleration, but, in their
own states, the supremacy — nay, the exclusive exercise
— of their religion; and, in the rest of the empire, they
were on terms of equality with the Roman catholics.
Social harmony, however, could not exist ; especially as
several articles of the pacification were purposely left
vague, that each party might, under more favourable
circumstances, advance claims which it was now ex-
pedient to suppress. Hence the seeds of future dis-
sension germinated vfhh rapidity, though in silence.,

iGO HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

But, for this misfortune, Charles is not to be blamed.
No sovereign coukl labour more zealously or more per-
severingly than he did to restore internal peace. Of
this fact, the preceding pages afford sufficient proof. In
other respects, his memory may be reverenced by Ger-
many. Notwithstanding his frequent, or rather his
continual, absence, " many beneficial regulations in the
police, jurisprudence, and finances, were introduced
during his reign. He improved and new modelled the
imperial chamber, on which the preservation of the
peace so much depended, and established new regu-
lations and statutes in regard to its constitution, juris-
diction, and proceedings, — a work, as a competent
judge observes, which ought to be considered as a mas-
terpiece of its kind ; and which, even to the present
day, has not only preserved its authority as a law of
the empire, but as a rule for all the legal proceedings
since established in the different circles, and is con-
sidered as common law in such cases. He likewise im-*
posed a perpetual tax for its maintenance ; and, above
all, instituted an annual and regular visitation to inspect
its proceedings, to remedy abuses, and grant new trials
in cases of appeal. — To the reign of Charles must also
be ascribed an innovation in the mode of contribution
for military aids. Hitherto the armies had been sup-
plied by personal service, according to the feudal system,
or by the impost called the common penny, which -was
levied on the value of all property. These ancient
modes were now commuted for a tax in money, at the
rate of twelve months per month for a horseman, and
four for a foot soldier ; and for the purpose of raising
this supply, the territorial lords, who had hitherto re-
ceived only gratuitous contributions from their pro-
vincial states, were authorised to levy the tax granted
by the imperial diet. The respective proportions were
founded on the matricula, or list of the troops to be
supplied by each state, which was arranged at the first
diet of Worms, for the intended expedition of the em-
peror to Rome; and, although the expedition did not

ADMINISTRATION OP CHARLKS.

161

take place, the statement was preserved as a foundation
for the computation of future aids ; and from the original
purpose, the contribution received the name of the Ro-
man months." The reluctance of the German nobility
to bear any kind of impost, to contribute in any pecu-
niary way to the necessities of the state, has often been
noticed. But in this reign we perceive that they sub-
mitted to one, on the distinct understanding that it was
not imposed as a right, but should be considered as a
voluntary gift. They had, in fact, no alternative, un-
less they preferred to march to the field at their own
expense. This, which had always been their aversion,
was far more onerous than their proportion of a con-
tribution levied alike on the commercial cities and rural
communities, and generally insignificant in amount.
Again : — " The union of the circles was a consider-
able advantage for the maintenance of the public peace.
It was instituted in consequence of the dissolution of
the Swabian league ; and first formed by the two circles
of the Rhine, and those of Franconia and Swabia, for
the purpose of opposing the predatory aggressions of
Albert margrave of Brandenburg. It was ratified
before the close of the year by all the circles, and made
a law of the empire by the imperial order of execution,
inserted in the recess of the diet of 1555, by which, in
case of disturbances, the states of each circle were to
afford all necessary aid under the command of their
respective colonels : and if the force of one or more
circles were insufficient, all the circles of the empire
were to join in maintaining the public peace, or sup-
porting the decrees of the imperial chamber." If to
these improvements we add, that Charles compiled a
new code, which has been called after him, and which
is now the basis of Germanic jurisprudence, we shall
allow that his reign has, in other respects than the re-
formation of Luther, considerable claims on our at-
tention.*

* Paulus Jovius, Historic sui Tempnris, torn, ii, (ult. lib.). Vida y
Hechos de Carlos V. torn. i. t-t ii. (multis capitulis). Schmidt, Histoire
VOL. III. M

162 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

1521 During this reign, the tranquillity of the empire was
to often disturbed by other causes than those regarding

1555. reiigion . Dut its SUpine indifference to every thing not
immediately affecting its existence, was as evident as on
any former occasion. — 1. In Hungary, the progress of
the Turks was alarming. In 1521, Ferdinand espoused
the princess Anne, daughter of Ladislas, and only sister
of Ludovic king of Hungary and Bohemia. This step
was politic, since it added another to the many ties
which connected the claims of his house with those im-
portant countries. In 1526, Ludovic fell in the dis-
astrous battle of Mohatz, while opposing the Turks.
By this event, as the deceased monarch left no issue by
his wife Maria of Austria, Ferdinand was the un-
doubted heir to the two crowns. By the Bohemians
his claims were immediately acknowledged ; but a por-
tion of the Hungarians, always averse to the Austrian
connection, elected John de Zapoli, palatine of Tran-
sylvania. As another portion acknowledged Ferdinand,
a civil war was inevitable. To support himself against
the superior force of the right sovereign, John invited
the aid of Solyman, sultan of the Turks, whose vassal
he engaged to be. This was one of the most fatal al-
liances which ever befel Eastern Europe : it led to wars
which, during a century and a half, agitated these re-
gions, and threatened the subjection of the cross to the
crescent. Loud and everlasting must be the execration
of posterity in regard to this unprincipled, ambitious
man. Solyman poured his savage hordes into Hungary,
the chief towns of which were rapidly reduced, and pe-
netrated into Austria. Ferdinand, unable openly to
oppose the overwhelming force, strengthened the fortifi-
cations of Vienna, and collected troops from every pos-

des Allemands, torn. vii. Fcrreras, Histoirc Generate, torn. ix. Coxe,
House of Austria, vol. i. chap. 26 — 52 Putter, Historical Developement
of the Germanic Constitution, vol. i. book 5. chap. 1—10. Pleff'el, Abr£g<*
Chronologique, torn. ii. (sub annis). Struvius, Corpus Historia?, pars x.
sect. 4. Sleidanus, Historia, lib. xxv. Thuanus, Historia sui Tempori*,
lib. \ix. ; cum aiiis.

SKCULAR EVENTS. 1 63

sible quarter. This time, however, wearied with the
resistance of the places he besieged, the sultan retired
to Constantinople ; but it was only to augment his means
of aggression. In 1532, he reappeared in Hungary^
penetrated through the passes of Styria, and besieged
Guntz ; a fortress which, though of no great importance;,
made a defence so heroic that the whole Turkish host
were unable to reduce it. In the mean time, Charles
roused both catholics and protestants to unite in defence
of the empire ; a formidable Christian army was put in
motion ; and this demonstration, added to the ill success
of his arms, again forced Solyman to retreat. Ferdinand
and John de Zapoli now renewed their contests for the
crown ; and years of obscure and desultory warfare fol-
lowed, which do little honour to either party. In 1538,
both rivals agreed to a compromise, — that John, as the
condition of joining the alliance against Turkey, should
preserve the regal title during life, Ferdinand and his
posterity being acknowledged the undisputed heirs to
the crown. But both parties were insincere : to ex-
clude Ferdinand, John married in advanced years ;
and though he died in 1540, he left an infant son to
continue the contest with his rival. The civil war was
renewed ; the Turks reappeared on the Danube, de-
claring for the young prince. Ferdinand, to save the
remnant of the country, concluded an inglorious truce
with the sultan ; and he had the additional baseness to
assassinate the prelate Martinuzzi, to whose influence and
talents he was indebted for the resignation in his favour
of the crown by the widowed consort of John. This
murder drove the Hungarians, who always hated the
Austrians, into revolt ; and they supported John Sigis-
mund, the son of the late king, in the reduction of
Transylvania. The young prince, in imitation of his
father, courted the Turkish alliance ; and at the death
of Charles, the warfare, which had been interrupted by
occasional truces, devastated these regions. — 2. From
Bohemia, Charles and his brother received many mor-

164- HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

tifications. The Roman catholics and the Callixtines *,
whom the efforts of Podiebrod and of Ladislas had per-
suaded to harmony for a season, renewed their strife
from the very commencement of Ferdinand's reign.
The king was of course a bigot, and therefore averse
to the Hussites, who were eager to make common cause
with the Lutheran Saxons : and he offended the people
by revoking the right of election, which he had declared
inherent in the states of the kingdom ; and by declaring
that the crown belonged to him in strict hereditary
right, without the sanction of a diet. They confederated
in defence of their civil and religious privileges. In
the end, however, they were compelled to dissolve the
confederacy, and to submit to the royal mercy. As
Ferdinand had no wish, amidst the troubles of Germany
and of Hungary, to incense the reformers beyond the
hope of forgiveness, he continued to tolerate the Calix-
tines : in matters purely temporal, he augmented, by
slow but sure degrees, his authority, until it far ex-
ceeded that of his predecessors. Fortunately for Bo-
hemia, his distractions in Hungary, his attempts to
secure the imperial crown, his necessary defence of the
Austrian dominions against the Turks, prevented him
from carrying into execution the ulterior designs which
he had evidently formed.f

* See Vol. IL .

" f Bonfinius, Rerum Hungaricarum Decades, decas x. Dubravius, His-
toria Bohemias, lib. 31. Schmidt, Histoire des Allemands, torn. viii.
Pfeffel, Abreg£ Chronplpgique, torn. ii. (sub annis). Goldastus, De Pri.
vilegiis Bohemiae (multis instrumentis). Putter, Historical Developement,
vol. i. book 5., and voL ii. book 6. Coxe, House of Austria, chap. 33.
and 34. Struvius, Corpus Historian, passim. Sleidanus, Commentarius,
passim.

165

CHAP. III.

FERDINAND I. RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS. CALVIN. HIS DOC-
TRINES. MAXIMILIAN II. RODOLF II. MATTHIAS.

FERDINAND II. RELIGIOUS ANIMOSITIES. — CIVIL WARS.

FERDINAND III. CONTINUATION OF THF. WAR. PEACE OF

WESTPHALIA. LEOPOLD I. CRIMINAL CONNEXION OF THE

PROTESTANT STATES WITH FRANCE. FOREIGN WARS OF THE

EMPIRE. JOSEPH I. CHARLES VI. FOREIGN WARS CON-
TINUED. CHARLES VII. FRANCIS I. TROUBLES. JO-
SEPH II. CONTINUED WARS. WILD REFORMS. LEO-
POLD II.

FERDINAND I. — The reign of this monarch offers few 1558
political events of a striking character. In Bohemia, to
there was tranquillity, since he had made himself the 1564t
absolute master of the kingdom. In Hungary, the war
still lingered, with little advantage either to him or his
rival, John Sigismund. In Austria, his hereditary pos-
session, he found the number of dissidents so much
increased, that, though a zealous catholic, policy induced
him to apply to the Roman court for two great conces-
sions, — the marriage of the clergy and the use of the
cup : the latter he obtained ; the former, the pope had
no power — as he had, doubtless, no inclination — to
grant. And, in another respect, the emperor showed
that, if he was a true catholic, he was no slave to the
papacy. At the commencement of his reign, having
signed the usual convention with the electors, — a con-
vention which differed from that of his brother and pre-
decessor only in so far as it afforded security to the pro-
testant religion, — he notified his accession to Paul IV.,
and at the same time expressed his desire to receive the
imperial crown from the hands of that pontiff. Never
M 3

16'6 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

was conduct more impolitic than that of Paul on this
occasion. Protesting that Ferdinand had never been
the lawful king of the Romans, since he had been
elected to that dignity without the concurrence of the
head of the church, he refused to receive the ambas-
sador ; reproached the new sovereign for daring to as-
sume the imperial title without his sanction ; declared
that the abdication of Charles was null, since it had
been effected without the consent of the papal see — the
acknowledged superior of the empire ; and ordered a
new election to be made, before Ferdinand should be
recognised as the temporal head of Christendom. Were
not this monstrous instance of arrogance too well at-
tested to be doubted, mankind would have some diffi-
culty in believing, that, at a time when half of Germany,
almost the whole of Scandinavia, England, the Low
Countries, half of Scotland, and part of France, had
thrown off all obedience to him, the pope could use
language which would scarcely have been tolerated in
the darkest ages. In this unexpected crisis, the em-
peror acted with the spirit becoming his station. He
ordered his ambassador to quit Rome, unless an audience
were immediately granted him. In alarm, Paul tem-
porised ; but, though he was anxious to mollify the
monarch, death surprised him in the midst of his ne-
gotiations. Pius IV., who succeeded, was more tractable;
and though Ferdinand, in the instrument of notification,
omitted the word obedientiam, which had hitherto been
inserted in it by all his predecessors, his title was ac-
knowledged. Catholics, no less than protestants, were
irritated at the pretensions of the pope : both declared
that it was high time to dissever the last ties which
connected his secular authority with the empire ; and
that, while the catholic princes and states yielded him in
spirituals a ready obedience, he must be openly taught
that his absurd temporal claims were no longer admissible.
It was resolved, that henceforth no emperor should receive
the crown from the hands of the pope. That resolution

FERDINAND I.

167

has been wisely observed ; and, from this period, not a
vestige of dependence is to be discovered in the inter-
course of the emperors with the popes. Soon afterwards,
though Pius interposed many obstacles, Maximilian,
the son of Ferdinand, was elected king of the Romans,
with the unanimous consent of the electors ; and instead
of an instrument containing the obedience of the empire
towards the head of the church, a mere complimentary
epistle was substituted. " Thus terminated the long
dependence of the emperors on the see of Rome, which
had been established in ages of darkness and ignorance ;
had been continued from respect and habit; and which,
in all periods, had involved the empire in innumerable
embarrassments and calamities, without producing a
single real advantage." — In many other respects, the
duties of Ferdinand were sufficiently delicate. His
great object was to preserve internal tranquillity, by con-
tinuing the good understanding between the rival par-
ties in religion. He held the scales of justice so evenly
balanced between them, that no one could accuse him
of partiality. He would not allow the catholics to sup-
press, in their own states, the exercise of the reformed
religion ; nor, to gratify the protestants, would he abo-
lish the Ecclesiastical Reservation. Nor was outward
harmony between them his only aim. With the same
zeal, and, unfortunately, with as little success as his pre-
decessor, he laboured to effect a union between them.
While, on the one side, he endeavoured to make the
protestants acknowledge the council of Trent ; on the
other, he attempted to wring from the pope, among
other concessions, that of the two points we have men-
tioned,— the clerical marriages, and the use of the cup.
But, moderate as was Pius IV., his prejudices could
not be made to bend ; he evaded every request, however
demanded by policy. With equal pertinacity, the pro-
testants refused to recognise the council, unless the pope
attended like any other bishop, without the power of
presiding, or swaying, or in the slightest degree di-
M 4>

168 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

reeling the proceedings ; unless the reformed theologians
should be declared equal in character and dignity to the
Roman catholic bishops ; unless the council were
transferred from Trent to some city of the empire.
In a subsequent assembly at Naumberg, they went
further. They would not receive the papal ambassador,
the cardinal Commendoni ; nor the papal letters, ad-
dressing them in the usual style of " Filii," since, as
they did not acknowledge the bishop of Rome as their
father, they would not accept the title which he had
given them. At length they condescended to write ;
but in a tone of the bitterest invective : they heaped
every abusive epithet on the Romish hierarchy, especially
on its head ; and declared that they would never attend
any council convoked by him, simply because he had not
the power of convocation, — that being the undoubted
prerogative of the emperor. This supremacy of the
temporal sovereign over the concerns of religion is, we
are sorry to perceive, a fundamental principle of most
protestant churches. None could be more fatal ; since
wherever he has been suffered to exercise any influence,
he has done so to the irreparable injury of religion : he
has bestowed on courtly sycophants the rewards due to
virtue and learning ; and by placing over the church,
men whose only object was their own temporal advance-
ment, who were almost uniformly traitors to their pro-
fession, and who, in their turn, were anxious to fill the
subordinate offices with their own creatures — similes
similibus gaudent — he has transformed the ministers of
the altar into the ministers of Satan; has converted
religion into the handmaid of worldly ambition; and
substituted a lifeless, offensive carcass in place of the
lovely, animated form which breathed around benevo-
lence and peace, and which men once worshipped with
ardour. If Ferdinand were disgusted with the savage
opposition of these fanatics — who, without sacrificing one
rational point of their creed, might surely have used
courtesy towards the oldest bishop in the universe, and

FERDINAND I. 1 69

have shown a disposition to be tolerant where forms only
were concerned, where the essential articles of belief
were tacitly laid aside for a season — he had soon the
gratification to perceive that they were more -fierce in
their hatred to each other than to the common enemy. —
In the preceding chapter, we have adverted to the dis-
sensions which, during the life of Luther, embittered
the minds of his followers. Three great points, in
particular, — the nature of the eucharistic sacrament,
that of justification, and the extent of the divine
decrees, continued, and with greater virulence than
ever, to divide the reformed doctors. In this very as-
sembly of Naumberg, on the suggestion that the Con-
fession of Augsburg should be received as the general
exposition of the reformed faith, scenes of violence oc-
curred, which had been hitherto unparalleled. On some
points the Calvinists, who, since the death of Luther,
were amazingly multiplied, were in direct collision with
the Lutherans ; and, in the fury of sectarian zeal, they
assailed each other, — little to the edification of Chris-
tians, little to the credit of their respective professions,
but much, undoubtedly, to the delight of their watchful
opponents, the Roman catholics. Here, however, that
the reader may have something like precise ideas
in what the tenets of Calvin differed from those of
Luther, we will devote a few observations to the sub-
ject. The reformer of Geneva has exercised too
great an influence on his age and posterity ; and that
influence is too visible in the churches of England and
of Scotland, and still more in the sects which have di-
verged from both, to be dismissed with the mere men-
tion of his name.*

* -ThrytrEeus, Saxonia, lib. xix. et xx. Thuanus, Historia sui Tem-
poris, lib. xxi. xxii. Sarpio, Historia Concilii Tridentini, lib. v. Palla-
vicini, Historia, passim. Struvius, Corpus Historiae, pars' x. sect. 5.
Lehmannus, De Pace Keligionis, lib. ii. Raynaldus, Annales (sub annis).
Jovius, Historia sui Temporis (ult. lib.}. Schmidt, Histoire des Alle-
mancls, torn. viii. Mosheim, Historia Erclesiastica, cent. xvi. sect iii.
pars 2. Loscher,. Historia Motuum, pars iii. Gerdes, Historia Renovati
Eyangelii, torn. iii. Bossuet, Histoire des Variations, liv. viii. Putter,
Historical Developement, vol. ii. Coxe, House of Austria, chap. 33 — 350

170 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

1509 John Calvin was born at Noyou, in Picardy, in the
0 year 1509- Being intended for the ecclesiastical state,
' great care was had of his education. During his studies
at Paris and Orleans, where he exhibited much acute-
ness of intellect, and an ardent desire for knowledge,
he acquired some acquaintance with the doctrines of the
reformation. But it was at Bourges, whither he re-
moved to perfect himself in Greek and Hebrew, under
the German professor Melchior Wolmar, that he be-
came fully embued with their spirit. From the first,
however, though he adopted most of Luther's opinions,
he leaned, in other respects, to those of Zwingle ; and
being of an ardent temperament, he did not, like most
of his brethren, conceal his new sentiments. At Paris,
which he visited after the conclusion of his studies, and
where he published his commentary on a book of Se-
neca, he conducted himself with so little discretion that
he was compelled to flee. At Basle, where he first re-
paired, he began to write in defence of the reformation.
Hitherto the new doctrines were only to be found in
scattered treatises : they were not yet connected to-
gether ; they were not even precisely defined ; and
were, consequently, far from having reached the dignity
of a science. To collect, explain, and in some cases to
amplify them, was the work of Calvin, in his elaborate
treatise On the Institution of the Christian Man. This
was intended to be a complete corpus theologiae, to contain
the sum and substance of religion. In general he follows
Luther ; but he pushes to more culpable lengths some
of the dangerous tenets of that reformer. With them
he combines the still more objectionable ones of Zwin-
gle ; and to both he adds peculiar dogmas of his own,
remarkable for their boldness. It must, however, be
observed, that, where he is not fettered by his peculiar
tenets, he is one of the ablest as well as most eloquent
expounders of the Christian faith. Endowed with a
mind far more comprehensive than Luther, of greater
subtlety, greater extent of learning, and incomparably

CALVIN. 171

better disciplined, Calvin was, in many respects, the
greatest of the reformed theologians. But he was no
less intolerant than Luther, or the wildest of the ana-
baptists. Though he had suffered persecution, he had
not learned to feel for others : on the contrary, whoever
ventured to dissent from his opinions, was sure to be
persecuted by him with unrelenting severity. At
Geneva, where his works were admired, and where he
soon obtained unbounded influence, he procured the
banishment of all who presumed to doubt of his infal-
libility. One, as is well known, the physician Servetus,
he prevailed on the magistrates of Geneva to consign to
the flames. " Heresy," he said, " was of a nature so
pestilential, that wherever it appeared in the social body,
it ought to be cut out with the sword." But where did he
derive the infallibility necessary to distinguish between
truth and error ? And how came he to forget the fun-
damental principle of the reformation, — the right of
private judgment in the interpretation of Scripture, the
sole rule of our faith ? If he and his associate ministers
found in that rule a sense different from that adopted
by the Roman catholics, and contended that they had a
right to receive and to diffuse the new interpretation,
with what show of justice could they refuse the same
right to such as differed from them? The truth is,
that intolerance and zeal are almost inseparable. To
the close of his life, this celebrated man continued to
display the same conscious superiority, the same stern-
ness of manner, the same unbending obstinacy even in
matters indifferent, the same severity of morals and
purity of conduct. Governed on all occasions by con-
science, however mistaken its voice ; unrivalled alike
for extent of erudition, logical subtlety, and eloquence ;
we cannot be surprised at the ascendancy he obtained.
He was, in fact, the supreme dictator of Geneva, both
in temporal and spiritual matters. In the one case he
established a new ecclesiastical government, — consis-
tories, colloquies, synods, elders, deacons, superintend-

1?2 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

ents : he regulated the forms and prayers of religion ;
fixed the number and ceremonies of the sacraments ;
and confided the jurisdiction of the infant church to a
consistory, which had the power to excommunicate, and
the proceedings of which he directed to the close of
life. Nor was he powerful in Geneva only : his de-
cisions were sought by the reformers of every European
country ; and he had considerable influence, through his
friendship with Cranmer and other English reformers,
in the establishment of the English church under the
sixth Edward, and in the definition of its doctrines.*

But the works of Calvin are more important than the
author ; and we proceed to give a brief view of his doc-
trines, as contained in his Institutes.

1509 They are divided into four books. — 1. The greater
to part of the first, which regards the existence and at-

1564. tri|jutes Of the £)eity ^ the necessity of revelation, and
its sufficiency as a guide to man, is in general re-
markable for acute reasoning, and luminous views of
the relation between man and his Maker. The exist-
ence of God he holds to be an innate idea ; and, in spite
of Locke, he is in the right. A sense of the power and
the will to help us, in some superior intelligence, and
the feeling that we require such aid, are independent of
all antecedent knowledge : they are engraven on every
human heart. Yet, though this innate conviction,
strengthened as it is by the works of the visible universe,
is the foundation of all religion, it cannot of itself suf-
fice for the conduct of men ; since we learn from all his-
tory, that, by our running into the excesses of idolatry, the
nature and the attributes of the One true God have been
misconceived. Hence, neither the view of the creation,
nor reason, is a sufficient guide to man. But God has
been graciously pleased to reveal his will to us ; and
that will is contained in the Holy Scriptures. But how

CALVIN. 173

are we to be assured that this revelation really proceeds
from God ? Rejecting, as Calvin does, the authority of
the church, which has declared which books are, and
which are not, canonical — which alone could distinguish
the genuine from the apocryphal — and knowing that
not one man in one million could have the learning
necessary to decide on such a subject, he was driven
to a miserable dilemma, — that of inward inspiration. As
the church may be deceived, and may consequently de-
ceive others, God infuses his spirit into our hearts — that
Spirit which spake by the prophets — not only to con-
vince us that He has continually revealed what we re-
ceive as canonical, but to acquaint us with the meaning
of that revelation. Hence, it is not by the authority of
ancient councils — not by the aid of extensive learning
of biblical criticism, and of severe consecutive reasoning,
that we are to receive the Scriptures as a divine reve-
lation: for the bulk of mankind it is by a particular in-
spiration. Let it not, however, be supposed, that
Calvin undervalues the learning, the criticism, and the
reasoning to which we have adverted, or that he re-
presents the church as wholly without authority. On
the contrary, he recognises both ; but then neither can
afford certainty — neither consequently set the mind at
rest — without the internal evidence of God's Spirit.
Here is a dangerous error, — one which must inevitably
lead to enthusiasm. If the intellect must be subservient
to the feeling ; if the judge in the most important of
cases be, not the head, but the heart, not the cool en-
lightened reason, but the impulse of sentiment; what
security have we against the wildest fanaticism ? against
the most monstrous fancies ? In this persuasion, the
anabaptists rejected all Scripture, as a guide at the least
uncertain, and in any case as much inferior to the in-
ward conviction produced by the Spirit. Calvin felt
the difficulty of his position ; and declared that the
Scriptures were diligently to be read ; anathematising,
as fanatics and fools, all who rejected their authority,

174» HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

under the pretext that the " inward law" was sufficient.
Yet this was gross inconsistency ; for if a particular
special inspiration were necessary to understand the true
sense of Scripture ; if that Scripture, without the aid of
the Holy Ghost, were a sealed book ; why was a reve-
lation of God's will ever made to man ? Can that which
is incomprehensible be called a revelation ? Why not
regard the Spirit alone as a sufficient, since it was the
only secure, teacher ? A hundred times less irrational
was the wild persuasion of the anabaptists, than this
doctrine of Calvin. He does not conclude the first
book without suffering to appear his most favourite tenet,
that of predestination. As, in the physical world, there
is an inseparable connection between causes and their
effects ; as every thing we behold is the result of some
active necessitating influence : so, in the moral world,
there is the same uncontrollable relation ; every passion,
every impulse of the heart, every thought of the mind,
every exertion of the will, being, in like manner, the
necessary result of some antecedent cause. And since, in
the one case, however the laws of nature may be said
to produce certain phenomena, the primary and efficient
cause is God ; so, in the other, however we may talk of
human will, the same cause is equally active and equally
resistless. Hence, because He works within us according
to His own pleasure; because every wish, every thought,
every emotion, is the result of that influence; there is no
such thing as free will ; vice and virtue being in an equal
degree His work. To say that He merely permits the
existence of evil, that He is not the efficient cause, is,
in the opinion of the reformer, sheer absurdity ; incon-
sistent with the acknowledged import of language, and
with the only rational way of interpreting Scripture.
These monstrous opinions, as is well known, were en-
tertained in the early ages of the church. That St.
Augustine was no stranger to them, is evident from his
writings, though it may be doubted whether he par-
ticipated in them, since he clearly recognises the ex-

CALVIN. 175

istence of free will. They were adopted by Gottschalk *,
who far outwent his predecessors. Luther evidently
inclined to them tj but it was reserved for Calvin to
reduce them into a system. — 2. In the second book,
which regards the condition of men on earth, we find
a still further exposition of that monstrous dogma — pre-
destination ; and the same misconception of the true
meaning of Scripture. That, through the transgression
of Adam, we are all born in sin, is a catholic truth, ap-
proved by universal experience ; but that every faculty
of the soul is wholly corrupted — that we are incapable of
a single good thought or action- — is as dangerous, and
quite as absurd, as to deny that human nature is for
ever fallen. From this thorough, unmitigated corruption,
man being incapable of attaining that moral virtue
without which he cannot see God, arises the necessity
of divine grace, which must not only resist the per-
petual tendency of our hearts and minds to evil, but
must begin, continue, and perfect the holy work within
us. Without it, he cannot so much as will a good ac-
tion ; he cannot form one good resolution ; he cannot
feel one good desire. Unsupported as is this view of
the subject by any well understood passage of Scripture,
and inconsistent as it is with reason and daily ex-
perience, we should yet have little room for complaint,
if the assistance, so necessary to every human being,
were equally vouchsafed to all. But the mischief is,
that by this system it is conceded to those only, who
from eternity have been predestined to the privilege. —
3. In the third book, these, and other principles de-
ducible from them, are urged with greater earnestness,
and in an amplified form. The death of Christ has
atoned for sin ; — a truth, catholic and incontrovertible;
but, salutary as it is, it could not pass through the mind
of Calvin without being tainted by the fell poison
within. If Christ died for all, all would have the

* See Europe during the Middle Ages, vol. ii.
t See the preceding chapter.

176 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

same chance of salvation, — a result which the Genevan
professor was far from admitting. Christ died for the
elect only, — for thdse who from eternity were pre-
destined to life eternal. For them, grace is always
provided ; they only experience its resistless influence,
and We sanctified by it, for the enjoyment of that re-
gion, which nothing unholy can enter. The rest of
mankind never receive it : it does not so much as visit
them ; but they are left to harden in their impenitence,
in accordance with the decree which before the found-
ation of the world consigned them to everlasting misery.
— In the same book, the author treats of the means by
which the elect are made partakers of Christ's merits.
Like Luther, he makes faith to be the chief, and, like him,
he assigns to that word a signification which, prior to
the sixteenth century, never entered into any human
mind. He defines it to be a certain infallible con-
viction of God's benevolence towards us, in Jesus
Christ : by it no one is permitted to doubt, not merely
of his justification, but of his final salvation. Every
true Christian, viz. every one predestined, must of ne-
cessity have a reliance in Christ equal to that of the
apostle Paul, — that neither life nor death, things present
or to come, principalities or powers, can separate him
from the love of Christ. Hence he is at all times cer-
tain of his salvation, — a certainty far superior in degree
to that which we can attain on any worldly subject, since
it rests on the promises of one who can neither be de-
ceived himself, nor deceive others. — 4. The last book
chiefly concerns the Church, which, according to Calvin,
does not consist of the elect only — of the saints who have
been made so by the resistless Spirit of God, in accord-
ance with His eternal decrees : it also comprises sin-
ners, because it is visible, has ministers of different
gifts and qualifications, who like their hearers may err.
Jf, however, the church err in essentials, it ceases to be
a true church ; and salvation is no longer to be obtained
in it, since there is no longer a faithful exposition of the

CALVIN. 177

word, or a legitimate administration of the sacraments,
means to which God has attached the holiness of man.
By this definition, he assails the Roman catholic church,
— the nurse and guardian of error. The rest of the book
is occupied with definitions of the two sacraments, —
baptism and the Lord's supper — in which he varies from
all other reformers as much as he does from the Roman
catholic church. The first, he held, was not necessary
to salvation ; since the infant might be, and in fact must
be, born not in sin, but in a state of grace, if destined
to life eternal. Its admission into the church proved
nothing : who could be sure that it was among the elect ?
And if not, of what avail was the rite ? In regard to
the eucharist, he rejected both the transubstantiation of
the Roman catholics, and the consubstantiation of the
Lutherans ; yet he differed also from the Zwinglians,
by teaching the actual presence of Christ's body, in a
manner indefinable, because incomprehensible.*

If the reader minutely examine the tenets of Luther
and those of Calvin, he will find, among many points . *°
of resemblance, some of difference. The two chief
points regard justification and the eucharist. Adopt-
ing the opinion of Luther, that we are made just by
the righteousness of Christ, which by faith is imputed
to us, Calvin improved it in three important points.
In the first place, that certainty which his predecessor
required for the justification of the sinner, he extended
to man's final salvation. Never was any doctrine more
comfortable than that which caused a man unhesi-
tatingly to believe, not only that his sins were pardoned,
that he was in a state of grace, but that heaven would
infallibly be his portion. This article was a striking
addition to the usual profession of faith, and distin-
guished the genuine Calvinist from the member of every
other church. As an instance, we may select that of

* Ca'vini Institutiones, lib. i. ii. iii. iv., in multis capitulis. Plouquct.
Dictionnaire cles Ht'resics, torn. i. art. Calvin. Bossuet, Histoire des
Variations, liv. ix. Mairabourg, Histoire du Calvinisme, passim. .
VOL. III. N

178 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

Frederic III., count palatine and elector of the empire.
In the exposition of his Credo, having asserted his belief
in the Trinity, he comes to the holy catholic church,
which consists of those selected from the whole human
race by God's spirit and the ministration of the word,
of which he is, and shall eternally remain, a living
member. Appeased by the satisfaction of Christ, God,
he is sure, will never remember any of his sins, either
past or to come ; but will impute to him the righteous-
ness of Christ, freely and gratuitously ; so that, strong
in Christ's infinite merits, which are thus become his
own, he has not the slightest dread of future judgment:
" I know," he concludes, " with the fullest certainty,
that I shall be saved, and that I shall appear with a
cheerful countenance before the tribunal of Christ ! " —
As a necessary consequence of his doctrine, Calvin was
compelled to add, that when grace is once received, it
cannot be lost ; that it must fulfil the purpose for which
it was decreed, — the sanctification and salvation of the
recipient. Hence, he who once receives the Holy Spirit
and is justified, receives it and is justified for ever.
The decrees of God cannot be made of no effect : how,
then, can he who is predestined to life, fail of the end ?
The grace of God is all. sufficient, resistless : how, then,
can its influence expire? must not the favoured reci-
pient of necessity be sanctified and saved by it ? how,
then, can it be lost ? Hence the expressions, final per-
severance of the saints — living and eternal members
of the church, so common from the middle of the six-
teenth century. — In the third place, and as a necessary
result of the first tenet, which teaches that justification
and final beatitude are the inevitable offspring of faith,
Calvin held, as we have before intimated, that baptism
cannot be necessary to salvation. In this respect, mon-
strous as is the proposition it involves, he was at least
more consistent than the Lutherans ; for if, as they
acknowledged, justification is by faith alone; and, if to
justification, both parties applied the same definition,

CALVIN. 179

why the necessity of baptism ? why, indeed, of any
sacrament ? Is not the unshaken conviction that our sins
are pardoned, that we are partakers of Christ's righte-
ousness, that we are heirs of heaven, sufficient, without
the adventitious — might we not say the superfluous —
means, — prayer, preaching, the sacraments, &c. ? As a
consequence of this system, baptism could not effect the
remission of sins ; it could not regenerate ; it could not
infuse grace. Hence an inevitable, yet more startling
proposition — children might be in a state of grace
independently of baptism. Nor did Calvin hesitate
to avow it in all its naked deformity. Children,
who were destined to life, were most certainly born in
grace ; they were children of the covenant : hence
baptism could not confer any benefit on them ; and it
was merely the sign or seal of the holiness to which, by
God's decrees, they were destined. Well may Bossuet
term this dogma " inoui dans 1'eglise, mais necessaire a
Calvin pour soutenir ses principes." Its foundation
was sought in Scripture, in the promises made to Abra-
ham. " I will be thy God, and the God of thy pos-
terity after thee." This was the old covenant ; it
descended from father to son : why should not the new
covenant — that of grace — be transmitted in the same
manner ? Hence grace is the portion of the elect from
the moment they come into the world ; and baptism is
merely the sign of that grace, and the seal of the new
covenant. — Of the three points just enumerated — all
contrary to Scripture, and all in themselves so absurd
that nothing short of sectarian stupidity would receive
them — all are fatal to morality. To be sure of heaven,
by the mere exercise of a heated fancy ; to maintain
that sin cannot, even for the time, destroy in the elect
the claim to celestial bliss ; to assert, in direct opposi-
tion to the testimony of the Holy Scriptures — to the
whole scheme of redemption, that some children are
born in a state of grace, might astound us, if long ex-
perience of what human error is capable, had not pre-
N 2

180 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

pared us for any thing. — These points were not, and
could not be, approved by the great body of the Lu-
therans. They merely concern the justification of man ;
on the nature of the eucharist, there was also some
divergence between the two parties. On this subject,
Calvin seems to have been unusually anxious. Luther
had taught that the body and blood of Christ were really
and substantially present ; Zwingle, that the elements
were but a sign or token of Christ's presence, which
must, therefore, be spiritual, and received by faith alone.
Neither of these hypotheses satisfied Calvin, who, being
actuated by the ambition of establishing a new church,
resolved to substitute another definition. In the view
of increasing that church at the expense of its contem-
poraries— of founding it on their ruins — he artfully
combined the essential characteristics of the two, by
asserting, with the Lutherans, that Christ's body and
blood — not merely His merits — were actually present
under the species of the bread and wine ; with Zwingle,
that by faith only could we receive the body and blood,
and become united with Christ. Hence as, contrary
to the Roman catholic tenet, the bread and wine were
allowed to remain, there was in the sacrament a thing
celestial and a thing terrestrial. This, indeed, was the
creed of Luther ; but Calvin differed from it in defining
the mode of Christ's presence : it was a virtual pre-
sence, distinct from that admitted by most reformers,
since it involved a mystery incomprehensible to the
human understanding; an astounding miracle, which
faith only could receive. The body of Christ was
always in heaven, and could not in the same manner
be present on the altar; nor could it be produced there
by the words of the consecrating priest, or by the power
of heaven itself; the virtue only of the body was in-
fused, at the moment of consecration, into the elements,
and received by the faithful. Thus Christ was actually
and substantially present ; but it was a presence by a
miraculous communication from above, — the virtue,

CALVIN. 181

the essence, of the body descending from heaven to
mix with the elements, and the body itself remaining
on high. The substance — the very flesh, the blood
— was eaten by the communicant ; but it was mys-
teriously become miraculously detached from the glo-
rious body, which totaliter et specialiter remained in
heaven. Thus the sun never leaves the firmament ;
yet its essence, — light and heat, — is communicated
to us. How far the illustration may remove the dif-
ficulties of the subject, we leave to the reader. One
thing is certain, that, with all his subtlety, the definition
of the reformer is no less incomprehensible than the
mystery ; that he did not understand himself. It is,
doubtless, owing to this circumstance, that his followers,
the modern Calvinists, have evaded his exposition of
the mystery. While professing to be governed by his
authority, they have explained his strongest language
relating to the substantial presence of Christ into mere
words. They would, in fact, reject it, were it not too
openly inculcated in his works, even in the Catechism
which he drew up for the use of the young, to be thus
summarily treated. They have preferred the wiser
alternative of explaining away the more objectionable
terms, and of suffering the tenet itself quietly to sink
into oblivion. Whether some such disingenuous artifice
may not have been employed in regard to a similar
passage of our own Catechism ; whether the words,
" the body and blood of Christ, which are verily and
indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's
Supper," have not been explained so as to mean nothing;
we leave to the reader's reflection.*

The object of the assembly at Naumburg was-two-1561.
fold, — to reconcile the protestants with the Roman
see, and to draw more closely the relaxed bond between
the Lutherans and the Calvinists. The issue of the
first we have already seen. The second seemed most

* Calvini Opera, prassertim Institutiones, lib. iv., et Opuscula (in multis
cis). Bossuet, Histoire des Variations, liv. ix.

N 3

182 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

likely to be attained, by procuring between the two par-
ties unanimity in regard to the Confession of Augsburg ;
of which, as there were several editions, differing more
or less from each other, some one, it was hoped, might
be found to merit the suffrages of both. It, too, was
equally fruitless ; or, rather, it added tenfold to the
animosity subsisting between them. Concerning that
bstruse subject — the existence and extent of free will,
and its co-operation with grace — the Lutherans, to disarm
their opponents, went much further than their founder
would have approved. They even acknowledged that,
in the act of man's conversion, he is helpless " as a
stone or clay;" that he is perfectly passive, while re-
ceiving the incontrollable impression from without. In
this they were not more irrational than they were
inconsistent with themselves, since, on former occa-
sions, they had recognised in man an action of the
will in combination with the influence of God's Spirit ;
that the moment the influence was felt, the will surren-
dered itself to the impulse, and to a certain extent be-
came a worker with the divine Spirit. Yet there were
other occasions on which they had sanctioned the Cal-
vinistic tenet before us, — for error is not very precise
in its definitions. Again, in regard to the Lord's Sup-
per, the protestant theologians and princes entertained
different sentiments ; and though they were persuaded
to concur in the Confession of Augsburg, on this, as on
other points, the explanation which each gave to the
controverted articles was often so diverse, that an open
angry quarrel disgraced both parties. The Lutherans
and Calvinists, however, agreed at this time on the
fundamental article — that Christ was substantially
present in the eucharist ; and though the latter would
not believe that He was locally present, they were in-
duced to join in the doctrine of ubiquity. By this it
was declared that Christ was every where present —
on the altar, no less than in the highest heaven. But
philosophy must condemn this laxity of definition. To

ADMINISTRATION OF FERDINAND. 183

constitute the presence, both natures, the divine and
human, were necessary ; yet to invest the latter with
ubiquity, was to invest it with divinity — to elevate the
creature into the Creator. In short, the proceedings
of the assembly presented the strange anomaly of con-
demning in the detail what had been approved in the
gross ; of sacrificing principle to expediency. The
result was what might have been anticipated : though
a treaty of union and peace, called a book of concord,
was signed by the two parties, their loud dissensions
proved that futurity would exhibit little of either union
or peace in relation to the two parties.*

The reign of Ferdinand I. is remarkable for some 1558
other things. — 1. The council of Trent finished its to
sittings, without touching most of the abuses of which 1564-
Catholic Europe had so long complained. It did, how-
ever, remove some : by more accurately denning certain
points of faith, it narrowed the bounds of superstition ;
by condemning the excessive use of indulgences, it con-
ferred a greater boon on the people ; by drawing closer
the bonds of church discipline, it laid the foundation
of clerical reform. Since this celebrated council, the
conduct both of the popes and of the clergy has been
such, as to entitle them to the respect even of their
religious enemies. It may, however, be doubted whe-
ther this benefit is not rather the result of protestantism
than of any direct legislation on the part of the fathers.
— 2. The appearance in Germany of a new religious
order — that of the Jesuits — well supplied the place of
the old monastic orders, who were no longer distin-
guished for learning or zeal. These men, who were

* Mosheim, -Historia Ecclesiastica, cent. xvi. sect. iii. part 2. Arnoldus,
Historia Ecclesiastica, lib. xvi. Schlusselburg, Theologia Calvinistica,
passim. Hutterus, Concordia Concors, cap. 1—8. Hospinianus, Concordia
Discors (variis locis). Walchius, Introductio in Libros Symbolicos, lib. i.
(variis capitulis). Chrytrseus, Saxonia, lib. 20. Thuanus, Historia, lib. 28.
Maimbourg, Histoiredu LutMranisme, liv. 6. Pallavicini, Historia Concil.
Trid. lib. xv. Bossuet, Histoire des Variations, lib. 8. Struvius, Corpus
Historia?, p. 1132. TPfeff'el, Histoire, A. a 1561. Schmidt, Histoire, torn. viii.
Dupin, Historia Ecclesiastica, cent. xvi. lib. 3. Putter, Historical De-
velopement, vol. ii. chap. 1. Coxe, House of Austria, vol. i. p. 592.
N 4

184 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

constituted to destroy error, and who, from the begin-
ning, made themselves the blind instruments of the
pope, succeeded, by their knowledge, their talents, their
incessant activity, in arresting the progress of the re-
formed doctrines in several European countries. They
were, in fact, crusaders against the protestant religion
throughout Europe. Condemning, as we do, their
career of intolerance, often of worldly ambition, — their
power was soon unbounded in every catholic country, —
we cannot refuse our admiration to men who, by their
assiduous study, have conferred greater benefits on lite-
rature than any university in Europe; and who, by their
burning zeal, have converted more pagans than all other
missionaries put together. — 3. For the preservation of
internal peace, Ferdinand substituted diets of deputation
for the general diets. They consisted of deputies re-
turned from,the several electorals and imperial cities, with
the elector at their head. As, whenever the public peace
was menaced, or new regulations were required for
securing it, they were easily convoked, the innovation
was certainly an improvement. With the same view,
the powers of the military chief or colonel in each
circle were enlarged ; he was enabled to call out a
greater levy of troops, in a less time. — 4. The Aulic
council was purged of its foreign advocates, and re-
modelled, so as better to suit the wants and wishes of
the Germans. On the whole, Ferdinand may be re-
garded as one of the best sovereigns of the country.
Though attached to his own religion, he tolerated the
reformed even in his own hereditary dominions of Aus-
tria ; and in his efforts alike for the reformation of his
own church, and for the union of all religious parties,
he showed an enlightened zeal for the best interests of
society. That such a man should be beloved, need not
surprise us. Hence he had little difficulty in procur-
ing the election of his son Maximilian as king of the
Romans. But the readiness with which the states en-
tered in this respect into his wishes, must, doubtless,

MAXIMILIAN n. 185

be assigned to his dividing the hereditary domains of his
house among his children and their posterity; and, con-
sequently, to his disarming the jealousy of the empire.
That the king of Bohemia, the king of Hungary, the
archduke of Austria, the duke of Styria, Carinthia,
Carniola, the Tyrol, and other places, should, when
elevated to the imperial throne, appear formidable to
the patriotic Germans, was natural. In his eldest son,
indeed, he secured the succession alike to the two king-
doms and the archduchy : but then Hungary was half
in possession of a rival ; and neither it nor Bohemia was
well affected to the house of Austria. To his second
son, and the posterity of that son, he bequeathed the
Tyrol, with the exterior provinces. The third had
Carinthia, Styria, and Carniola.*

MAXIMILIAN II. was worthy to succeed his able and 1564
patriotic father. — 1. In his policy as regarded the l°
empire, it was his constant aim to preserve the religious 1576.
peace, which was never more threatened than during
his reign. Because he had so much attachment to the
Lutheran doctrines as to receive the communion under
both kinds, and detested persecution, though he re-
mained in the bosom of the catholic church, he had
great personal influence with both parties. Listening
with patience to the complaints of both, and being able
to show both that they were wrong, — the Roman
catholics in seeking to persecute the Lutherans of their
states, the Lutherans in clamouring for the abolition
of the ecclesiastical reservation, — he persuaded them,
for the common good, to refrain from open hostility.
He even protected the Calvinists, who were hated by
the Lutherans even more than by the Roman catholics,
so far as to prevail on his own brethren not to join in
the persecution. Frederic III., elector palatine, had
quitted Lutheranism for Calvinism ; and so, by the com-
pact concluded between the catholics and the followers

* Founded on the contemporary histories of Ferdinand I.

186' HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

of Luther, had forfeited all claim to toleration. Both
called for his deposition ; but he was a powerful prince ;
he had all his co-religionists throughout Europe at his
disposal ; and his valour was celebrated. Knowing
that a civil war might even wrap Europe in flames,
Maximilian, by detaching the catholics from the con-
federacy, left the odium of the persecution to the
Lutherans alone ; and they, fearful alike of the impu-
tation and of the consequences of weakening the pro-
testant cause, reluctantly consented to remain at peace.
Yet these were the men who had so lately concluded
the concord at Naumberg with the Calvinists ! However,
by his firmness, the religious peace remained unim-
paired to his death. Had his representations, indeed,
to the papal see, obtained the attention which they
deserved, he would have effected more in this respect
than any of his predecessors. By several popes, the use
of the cup had been granted to the Bohemians, the
Austrians, and such of the Germans as insisted on it.
He besought the pope to proceed a step further, — to
concede the power of marrying to the clergy, — and
asserted that, by this judicious concession, the catholic
church would be more benefited, and the Lutheran
more injured, than by all other measures. This, he
contended, was a mere matter of discipline which did
not in the slightest degree affect the tenets of the
church. But Paul V. was inexorable : indeed, he had
not power to make the concession required ; and he had
no wish to call another grand council so soon after that
of Trent had recorded its solemn approbation of clerical
continency. If, however, in this respect, Paul was
justifiable, in others he was haughty, morose, and in-
accessible to reason. He would not hear of any attempt
to unite the two parties : all that remained, he ob-
served, for the protestants, was unconditional submission
to the decrees of the late council : he severely con-
demned every effort to conciliate them ; and threatened
the emperor with deposition, if he ventured, like Charles

MAXIMILIAN II. 187

V., to sit in judgment on matters of faith or discipline.
Maximilian was even required to revoke the toleration
which he had granted to his subjects of Bohemia and
Austria ; but he evaded compliance, and by so doing
secured himself a tranquil and happy reign. Once,
indeed, the public peace was in danger of being dis-
turbed, but not by religious feuds. William de Grum-
bach, one of the free nobles of Franconia, procured the
assassination of Melchior bishop of Wurtzburg ; be-
sieged the city; forced the chapter to capitulate ; and, to
escape punishment, prevailed on John Frederic duke of
Gotha to give him an asylum. Grumbach, the duke,
and all their adherents, who were preparing to sustain
their rebellion, were placed under the ban of the em-
pire : the execution of the decree was entrusted to the
elector of Saxony : Gotha was taken ; the dethroned
prince confined for life to an Austrian prison; and Grum-
bach, with the more active accomplices, was put to death.
The celerity with which this private war was quelled,
was owing to the efficiency and prompt resolution of the
diet of deputation, — an institution owing, as we have
before observed, to the father of Maximilian. — 2. The
public tranquillity was disturbed in Hungary only.
John Sigismund still contended for the crown ; and,
aided by his constant allies the Turks, whom he thus
criminally introduced into the kingdom, he was enabled
to maintain his ground. When Maximilian ascended
the throne, the aspect of affairs in the East was lower-
ing. Solyman was arming with the resolution of
subjugating the whole country to the very gates
of Vienna. But his mighty preparations ended in
nothing : before a little fortress he lost 20,000 men ;
and anxiety, fatigue, no less than the pestilential
marshes, soon brought him to the grave. Selim, who
succeeded, being anxious to turn the Mohammedan
arms against Cyprus, concluded a truce with the em-
peror ; though John Sigismund refused to be compre-
hended in it, the successes of Maximilian soon compelled

188 HISTORY OF THE GERSIAN1C EMPIRE.

him to sue for peace. He retained the principality of
Transylvania, but renounced the regal title to Hungary.
His death, in 1571, opened the way for the aspiring
ambition of Stephen Battori, who had been the minister
and general of John Sigismund, and who was now
recognised as prince of Transylvania. Stephen, how-
ever, laid no claim to Hungary ; so that tranquillity was
preserved during the remainder of Maximilian's reign.
But in regard to the crown of Poland, to which both
were elected by different parties, the public peace was
again endangered. Had he immediately hastened to
Poland, the crown would certainly have been his : but
his delays affording his more active rival time to hasten
thither, Battori was proclaimed, and fully established.
The emperor, indeed, would have appealed to arms
against one whom he stigmatised — perhaps justly —
as a vassal of the Turks, had not death surprised him
in the midst of his preparations. — Maximilian was a
great prince, a Christian, philosopher, scholar, and
patriot. He had the rare good fortune of being praised
by catholic and protestant,by Austrian and Bohemian, by
German and Hungarian. His character was well de-
scribed by the Bohemian ambassadors to Poland : " We
Bohemians are as happy under his government as if he
were our father : our privileges, our laws, our rights,
liberties, and usages, are protected, maintained, de-
fended, and confirmed. No less just than wise, he
confers the offices and dignities of the kingdom only
on natives of rank ; and he is not influenced by favour
or artifice. He introduces no innovations contrary to
our immunities ; and when the great expenses which
he incurs for the good of Christendom render contri-
butions necessary, he levies them without violence, and
with the approbation of the states. But what may
almost be considered a miracle, is the prudence and im-
partiality of his conduct towards persons of a different
faith ; always recommending union, concord, peace,
toleration, and mutual regard. He listens even to the

RODOLF II. 189

meanest of his subjects, readily receives their petitions,
and renders impartial justice to all." That such a
prince should have little difficulty in procuring the
election of his son Rodolf as king of the Romans, was
to he expected.*

RODOLF II. ascended the throne under the most 1567
favourable circumstances. The wise administration of *°
his immediate predecessor had attached the whole
empire to his house ; that house was exceedingly po-
pular in Bohemia : it held most of Hungary ; Lutheran
and catholic, before so ready to quarrel, were reconciled
to toleration ; and the imperial authority was regarded
by both as the only means of preserving the public
peace, and of resisting the tide of invasion from the
East. Yet, with all these advantages, few reigns have
been more unfortunate. A bigot by education and
sentiment, he had neither the power nor the wish to
conciliate the protestants : hence the religious animo-
sities which distracted the empire, and which laid the
foundation of the disasters that happened in the suc-
ceeding reign. Governed by favourites, he had no
judgment of his own. Without judgment, without
firmness, without' any defined system, he was assuredly
not the sovereign adapted for this turbulent country, at
a time when two fearful principles were struggling for
the supremacy. The first efforts of his intolerance
were felt in his hereditary states of Austria, where he
prohibited, by degrees, the public exercise of the pro-
testant religion. It is, however, acknowledged by his
religious opponents, that he had some ground for this
severity ; since the burghers of Vienna and other towns
who were of the new church, were become numerically
.stronger than even the catholics, and, in the conscious-
ness of this fact, were beginning to persecute the ad-

* Struvius, Corpus Historias, p. 1137 — 1156. Chrytra?us, Saxonia, lib. 20,
21, 22. S!3. Thuanus, Historia sui Temporis, lib. 36— fO. Flechier, Vie du
Cardinal Commendon, liv. 4. Baro de Polheim, Oratio de Maximiliano II.
Pfeff'el, Histoire d'Alleraagne, torn. ii. (sub annis). Schmidt, Histoire,
torn. viii. liv. 11. Coxe, House of Austria, vol i. chap. 36, 37, 38, 3a

190 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

herents of the ancient faith. When restrictions were
imposed on them, they broke out into open insurrec-
tion ; but as they were speedily reduced, they were
naturally treated with greater rigour. The inveterate
hatred which now distinguished the reformers them-
selves, which placed the disciple of Luther in open
hostility with the follower of Calvin, afforded Rodolf
the prospect of weakening and ultimately of subjugating
both. At this day, when the mild influence of toler-
ation has smothered the rugged features of sectarian
zeal, we do not always form an adequate idea of these
dissensions. The same province often exhibited two
successive protestant rulers dissimilar in creed, and each
resolved to secure the preponderance of his own creed
by the extirpation of its rival. Thus, in the palatinate,
Frederic III. was a rigid Calvinist, and, like every other
person of that persuasion, intolerant : by force he in-
troduced the Genevan creed, and allowed no liberty of
public worship to the Lutherans. His son Ludovic,
who was no less attached to the doctrines of Luther,
banished the Calvinistic preachers, and fully restored
the Lutheran worship as settled by the Confession of
Augsburg. After the death of Ludovic, during the
minority of his son Frederic IV., John Casimir, the
nearest agnate on whom devolved the regency, again
expelled the Lutherans, and reinstated the Calvinists.
In Saxony, the case was nearly the same ; and in other
parts of the empire, especially in the imperial cities,
the same alternations of triumph and expulsion befel the
two creeds. No one thought of toleration, which, in the
vocabulary of the day, meant indifference. The evil,
however, was felt by a few, who, content to sacrifice
zeal to policy, introduced another Book of Concord,
which by allowing a comfortable latitude wherever the
two religions diverged — in other words, by explaining
entirely away the meaning of words — might, it was
hoped, prevent an open war between them. As usual,
it was ridiculed by the bigots, who contributed the most

RODOLF II. 191

numerous portion of both, and who not unjustly termed
it the Book of Discord. John Casimir, the admini
strator of the palatinate, refused to receive it ; and
thereby placed himself in open collision with Augustus
of Saxony and John George of Brandenburg, the two
great supports of the Lutheran cause. The pro-
testants being thus divided, Rodolf proceeded to derive
what advantage he could from the schism. If he per-
secuted the one party, he well knew the other would
applaud him. Hence he directed his Aulic council, con-
sisting wholly of catholics, to take cognizance of the
affairs which, properly speaking, belonged to the resort
of the imperial chamber, containing an equal number of
protestant and catholic members. The consequence
was a vexatious course of annoyance, which called forth
the indignation of the reformers : wherever favour
could be shown to the catholic party in a suit, it was
shown. Yet in many instances the court was only ex-
ecuting due justice. Ever since the treaty of Passau,
the more violent of the protestants had been violating
the Ecclesiastical Reservation*, and, consequently, filling
the high offices of the church with dignitaries of their
own persuasion, even where the majority of the chapter
adhered to the Roman catholic faith. On the whole,
however, the protestants had reason to complain ; so
that we need not wonder at their frequent remonstrances
before emperor and diet ; nor, when these failed of effect,
that they should unite for the support of their religious
rights. But in these times there was no medium :
from self-defence, they passed to every species of
annoyance ; nor, in their fierce burning enthusiasm, did

* We have before explained this word ; but to avoid perpetual reference
we repeat, that in the diet of 1555, while the property which had been
stolen from the church was secured to the protestant possessors, and
while the protestant ecclesiastical dignitaries were recognised, it was
decreed, that if any catholic archbishop, bishop, abbot, or other dig-
nitary, should enter the reformed communion, the chapter still remain-
ing catholic, the convert should forfeit his dignity and possessions, and the
chapter should proceed to a new election. What could be more reason-
able ? The protestants, however, resisted this Reservation on every occa-
sion, and often expected the chapter to make room for members of their
own creed.

1Q2 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

they pay the slightest attention to their duties as citizens
or as reasonable men. When supplies were demanded
for the war against the Turks, who were thundering
on the frontier, they were sullenly refused : nay, even
the reformation of the calendar by Gregory XIII., —
one of the greatest boons astronomical science ever pre-
sented to mankind, — was equally scouted, on the prin-
ciple that every thing emanating from Rome was
accursed ; and though the catholic states successively
adopted the new computation, the protestant, with cha-
racteristic pertinacity, adhered to the old one, mon-
strously erroneous as they knew it to be, down to the
opening of the eighteenth century.* Nor did their
criminal folly end here. Apprehensive lest they should
be unable to withstand the Roman catholic states, sus-
tained as the latter would probably be by the Spanish
branch of the Austrian house, they placed a stranger,
Henry IV. of France, at the head of their confederation,
and instigated their brethren in Austria and the Low
Countries to rise against their respective governments.
On the other hand, Rodolf persevered in his impolitic
course of exasperating, instead of conciliating, the dis-
sidents. In Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary, where
his direct authority was most felt, numerous insurrec-
tions attested the bigotry of his measures. In the same
spirit the ban, of the empire was thrown on Aix-la-
Chapelle and Donawerth, — cities, however, which had
certainly merited some punishment by their persecution
of the Roman catholics. The consequence was an
enlargement of the confederation of Heidelberg ; many
protestant states, which had hitherto stood aloof, sending
their deputies to the assembly. Their avowed objects
were to resist the enemies of their religion ; never to ac-
knowledge the jurisdiction of the Aulic council ; never

• In the tame spirit, England rejected the Gregorian calendar, and
adhered lo the old one, until 1751. She was the last European country,
Sweden and Russia excepted, which suffered a blind malignity to reject
the services of science. Sweden changed in 1753 ; Russia will probably
persevere in the old style some centuries longer.

BODOLF II. 193

to pay their respective contributions to the imperial
treasury, unless their grievances were redressed ; and to
destroy every prince or city that should abandon the
common cause. At the same time the contingent of
troops to be furnished by each state was settled, and
generals were appointed. In self-defence, or probably
from a similar desire of aggression, the catholic states
also entered into a league, of which the duke of Bavaria
was declared the chief, just as the elector palatine —
for the elector of Saxony, the personal friend of the
emperor, constantly refused to join the Evangelical Union,
— was the acknowledged head of the protestants.
Such was the lamentable aspect of affairs purely re-
ligious : the civil were scarcely more promising. One
of his decisions respecting the right of succession, though
founded on the public law of the empire, gave dissatis-
faction to many, and led to disasters which no man
could have foreseen. On the death of the duke of
Juliers, Cleves, and Berg, without issue, the succession
was claimed by many kinsmen. Among them were
the electors of Saxony and Brandenburg, and the count
palatine of Neuburg, all protestants. Rodolf leaned to
the elector of Saxony, whose claims he engaged to sup-
port ; but until a legal decision could be pronounced by
his Aulic council, he placed the three duchies under
sequestration. It may, however, be doubted whether
the Aulic council was the legitimate tribunal for such a
case, which rather belonged to the imperial chamber.
But this chamber had of late years greatly declined.

" A circumstance which gave the imperial chamber, during
this reign, an irrecoverable blow, was the neglect of the annual
visitation. According to the former institution, there were
always seven imperial states, in the order in which they had
their seat and voice at the diet, appointed for that purpose.
Among these there were generally more catholics than pro-
testants ; and the latter when they found themselves aggrieved
by a partial majority, could gain no redress. Thus, in the
year 1587, at the visitation and revision, there were five
catholic states and only two protestant ones ; viz. the electors
of Mentz and Saxony, Salzburg, duke John Casimir of
VOL. III. O

1.94 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

Saxony, the prelates, Swabian counts, and the imperial city of
Cologne : of these, only the two voices of the house of Saxony
were on the protestant side. At the visitation in the year
1588, were the following voices, as they were delivered in the
respective places at the diet ; viz. the electors of Mentz and
Brandenburg, Magdeburg, the margrave George Frederic
of Brandenburg, the prelates, the counts of Wetteravia, and
the imperial city of Ratisbon. Here the case was quite the
reverse ; the elector of Mentz and the vote of the prelates
happened to be the only catholic votes, the other five were
protestant. To prevent this majority of votes, which was now
in favour of the protestants, from having its natural effect,
the visitation was discontinued ; and thus this admirable insti-
tution was put a stop to for a prodigious length of time.
The imperial chamber, therefore, of course declined ; which
tended as much to lessen the emperor's authority, as it was
prejudicial to those parties whose causes were then depending."

In revenge, the elector of Brandenburg and the count
palatine of Neuburg agreed to seize the administration,
to hold it conjointly, and defend the usurpation against
every gainsayer. This agreement, which was called
the treaty of Dortmund, was necessarily annulled by the
emperor, who despatched his kinsman, the archduke
Leopold, to assume the administration until judgment
were pronounced. By this latter act, the reformed
princes pretended to discover that Rodolf, aided by the
Spanish count, was resolved that these provinces
should not be held by a protestant ; that, in fact, they
should be incorporated with the possessions of his own
house. That this was merely a pretence, is clear from
the engagement into which he had entered with the
elector of Saxony, on whom, indeed, he had conferred
the contested investiture. Yet they made the question
one of religion, and applied for aid to Henry IV. of
France, — a prince ever ready to interfere in the civil
broils of Germany, with the view of extending its
frontier to the Rhine. The united provinces, always
disposed to annoy the house of Austria, joined the con-
federate princes. What might have been the result,
had not Henry IV. been assassinated just as he was
ready to pour his troops across the frontier, cannot be

RODOLF II. 195

determined. The French and Dutch, indeed, furnished
a few troops ; but after some partial ravages, both
parties agreed to suspend hostilities, — not until judg-
ment should be given, but until they could make pre-
parations for a decisive conflict. — Well might Rodolf
lament the utter contempt in which his authority was
held ; but his chief mortifications are yet to be men-
tioned. His intolerance on the one hand, his pusilla-
nimity on the other, successively wrested from him the
greater portion of his states ; and would have deprived
him even of the imperial dignity, had his life been pro-
longed. As he had no issue, the presumptive heir of
those states was his brother Matthias, whom he con-
stituted governor of Austria and of Hungary. Per-
ceiving the detestation in which the emperor was held,
conscious of his own talents, which had been shown in
several actions against the Turks, and led by am-
bition, the archduke began to cultivate the good will of
the protestants, whom he favoured alike in Hungary
and Austria, and of the natives in general, for whose
privileges he testified unusual respect. By intrigues,
and bribes, and promises, by persuasive eloquence, or
by open force, he induced the states of Austria, Hun-
gary, Moravia, and Bohemia, to join him in securing
what he called the public weal. Notwithstanding the
resistance of the emperor, which was too tardy to be
availing, he obtained the throne of Hungary, with the
eventual succession to that of Bohemia, and, indeed, to
all the possessions of his house. By removing the
grievances under which the protestants laboured,
Matthias established his authority in Hungary and
Austria ; and before Rodolf's death, entered on the ac-
tual government of Bohemia. For the astonishing
success of this rebellion, the ill qualities of the em-
peror will not sufficiently account. He was, in ad-
dition, assisted both with money and troops by the
protestant states of Germany. They espoused his
cause, both from the privileges he had conceded to their
co-religionists, and from the known desire of Rodolf to
o 2

196 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

substitute the archduke Leopold as heir to one portion
at least of the Austrian states. Leopold, though a
prelate, had been encouraged to aim at the government
of Bohemia ; and had he been as cordially assisted by
the catholics, as Matthias was by the protestants, the
triumph of the latter would have been doubtful. Ro-
dolf did not long survive the rejoicings attending the
coronation of Matthias at Prague. A sombre melan-
choly, which rendered life wearisome, had long afflicted
him, and brought him to his grave in the thirty-sixth
year of his disastrous reign.*

1612 MATTHIAS, king of Hungary and Bohemia, had little
difficulty in procuring the suffrages of the electors for
' the imperial crown. As, however, no king of the Ro-
mans had been elected during the preceding reign, there
was a short interregnum, which, in the agitated state of
the times, was remarkable for one circumstance. The
vicariat of the empire, or hereditary dignity, devolved on
two protestants : the one, the elector of Saxony, a Lu-
theran ; the other, the count palatine, duke of Neuberg,
a Calvinist. To these men the catholic states refused
obedience; and it consequently became necessary to
choose a sovereign with the least possible delay .—The
reign of Matthias exhibits the same animosity on the
part of the religious rivals, as had disgraced that of his
predecessor, The affair of the three duchies, which was
originally a civil, but which the passions had turned
into a religious question, alike continued to harass the
court and country. The elector of Saxony, who had
witnessed the usurpation of all three, obtained from the
present emperor the confirmation of his claim ; but
rather a claim of participation, than of sole administra-
tion. The two princes, however, who were in actual
possession of the greater portion, refused to surrender it,

* Struvius, Corpus Historic, pars x. sect 7. PfefFel, Histoire (sub
annis). Putter, Historical Developement, TO!, ii. Coxe, House of Austria,
ckap. 40 — 44 Mosheim, Historia Ecclesiastica, cent. xvi. et xvii. passim.
Thuanus, Historia sui Temporis, lib. 60—138. Chrytraei Saxonia, lib. 24
—30. ; necnon Continuatio eju», p. 1—178. Schmidt, Histoire, torn. viii.
Russell, History of Modern Europe, vol. ii. Barre, Histoire de rErapire,
torn. ix.

MATTHIAS. 197

or to admit him into the government of these provinces.
With the view of uniting two, at least, of the concurrent
claimants, a marriage was contracted between the count
palatine (the duke of Neuberg) and the daughter of the
elector of Brandenburg. But one day, while over their
cups, the latter gave his intended son-in-law a sound
box on the ear ; the duke, in revenge^ joined the ca-
tholic church and league, and married the daughter of
the Bavarian duke. Thus, affairs were complicated,
and religious animosity increased, worse than before.
The French and Dutch had before advanced to assist
the protestant claimants : the Spaniards were now in-
troduced to support the new convert. With the same
policy, the elector of Brandenburg forsook Lutheranism
for Calvinism, and obtained the aid of the Dutch under
the prince of Orange. Whoever reads with attention
the transactions of this period, must perceive that worldly
views were more powerful than religious considerations
with the leaders on both sides. The imperial court was
not likely to regard with much favour men who, on
every occasion, refused the supplies necessary for the
defence of the empire, and for the internal adminis-
tration. Hence the rigour with which the Aulic council
acted towards such of the dissidents as were compelled
to bring their causes before it. But the Evangelical
Union gradually acquired strength. In l6l4, it hoped
to acquire more by the marriage of its youthful head,
Frederic V., elector palatine, with Elizabeth, daughter
of James I. It could not foresee that this very prince
would do more to injure the protestant cause, than the
bitterest of its enemies. In Bohemia, the year preceding
the death of Matthias, religious hatred burnt more
fiercely than ever. The archbishop of Prague, and an-
other dignitary, incensed that the dissidents should con-
tinue to build conventicles on their own domains,
demolished a few. Instantly the latter were in arms ;
and though the conduct of the two ecclesiastics was ap-
proved by the emperor, and by Ferdinand who had just
been elected king of the Romans, and crowned king of
o 3

198 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

Bohemia (Matthias had no issue), they were not discou-
raged : they were formidable in the kingdom, and they
•were sure of support from the protestant rulers of the
empire, and of the Low Countries. One of their
first objects was characteristic of Bohemians, — to
hurl the royal governor of Prague, and his secretary,
from the windows of the municipal hall. To this vio-
lence they were led by count Thorn — a protestant, a
man of great ambition, and who had to revenge his dis-
missal by the court from a distinguished civil office.
Though Matthias promised ample toleration, and, in-
deed, a redress of many other grievances, they would
not be pacified. Moreover, Silesia and Upper Austria
joined its dissidents to them ; the Evangelical Union of
Halle sent troops ; and the war became general, though
desultory. In virtue of his recent alliance, the rash and
inexperienced elector palatine aimed at the Bohemian
crown, and was secretly assured of aid from the princes
of the Union. Hostilities raged on every side : nor
could they be suppressed by the emperor, who, though
mild, was unpopular ; or by Ferdinand, who, though
king of Hungary no less than of Bohemia, could not
bring a force of any amount into the field. In this pos-
ture of affairs, Matthias died, — an event not likely to
restore tranquillity, as the king of the Romans was per-
fectly detested by the protestant party. The causes of
the thirty years' war, — one of the most disastrous that
ever afflicted a country, — were in full operation. A
contest of principles no less than of personal ambition
was about to commence, — one which shook Europe to
its extremities, and must be remembered so long as
books remain to record it.*

1G19 FERDINAND II. — Six months of an interregnum be-

_t° tween the death of Matthias and the election of a suc-

cessor, were, in the actual position of affairs, sure to be

disastrous. In the first place, the states of Bohemia,

contending that Ferdinand had broken his compact

* Schmidt, Histoire, torn. ix. Pfeffel, Histoire, torn. ii. (sub annis).
Barre, Histoire, tom. ix. Coxe, House of Austria, voL i. chap. 45.
Struvius, Corpus Historian, pars x. sect 8. Puflendorf, Historia Rerum
Suecicarum, lib. i.

FERDINAND II. 199

with them, declared the throne vacant. All Bohemia,
except one fortress, was soon in possession of the in-
surgents, of whom all were dissidents : in fact, three
fourths of the kingdom were said, at this time, to favour
some sect of the reformation. Moravia and Silesia were
equally firm in the new faith, and in the resolution of
establishing the liberties of the country on some better
foundation than a tyrant's will. Upper Austria, which
had as many discontented inhabitants as there were dis-
sidents, received count Thorn with applause. Vienna
itself, where the king then was, was invested by the
insurgents ; who threatened to execute his ministers, to
confine him within the walls of a monastery, and to
educate his children in the protestant faith. Fortu-
nately he was relieved from his perilous situation by the
unexpected arrival of a partisan, and the siege was
raised. Of this circumstance he took advantage, by
hastening into Germany to claim the imperial crown ;
which, he hoped, would so far augment his influence as
to enable him to triumph over his rebellious subjects.
In this object, from the known aversion of the pro-
testants towards him, he was sure to encounter oppo-
sition : but what rendered him unpopular with the one
party, was a recommendation to the favour of the other ;
so that, as the catholic electors were numerically the
stronger, he succeeded. But this circumstance in no
degree daunted the views of the insurgents : it rather
added to their fury. In Bohemia, the states put the seal
to their disloyalty by electing the count palatine Fre-
deric V. Nor was the act less foolish than disloyal,
since this vain, weak, and, as the result proved, cowardly
prince, had no talents for the station. It was, indeed,
expected that, by the aid of his father-in-law, James I,
of England, of his relation the prince of Orange, and
other protestant rulers, he should be able to withstand his
enemies; but no hope was ever more unfounded. James
had too much respect for the authority of kings, to en-
courage rebellion, even in the husband of his daughter ;
and he earnestly attempted to dissuade Frederic from an
o 4

200 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

enterprise which he was resolved not to support. The
prince of Orange was too much occupied with nearer
enemies, to have leisure for a religious crusade ; and
the protestant princes of the empire would have been
unable to contend with the catholic, even had the most
powerful of them, the elector of Saxony, not been the
ally of Bavaria and the imperial house. Frederic ac-
cepted the offer of the Bohemians, and hastened with his
equally vain consort — the cause of his future woes —
to consult with his Calvinistic clergy on the means of
defending the kingdom. The result was such as re-
quired little prophecy to foresee. Though he was re-
ceived with open arms by the dissidents ; though he
found that most of Hungary, instigated by the same
restless spirit, had thrown off the yoke of Ferdinand,
and entered into an alliance with Bothlehem Gaber,
prince of Transylvania; though the Austrian states
were again overrun by the protestant generals ; and the
Evangelical Union, as it modestly termed itself, refused
any succours to the emperor, who was insultingly ad-
vised to make peace with the new Bohemian king; he
was little able to contend with a prince so constant in
adversity, so persevering in purpose, so fertile in re-
sources, as the head of the Austrian house. He was
abandoned by the members of the Union, who were per-
suaded or forced to remain neutral during the struggle ;
and though he had still the numerical superiority, he
contrived to disgust both his catholic and his Lutheran
subjects by his Calvinistic fanaticism, and to render all
but a desperate sect lukewarm in his cause. In a few
days, he was expelled from a kingdom which he had not
courage to defend, or wisdom to conciliate. Never was
defeat or flight more inglorious. This royal puppet had
the mortification to find his hereditary state occupied by
the Bavarian and imperial troops ; nor could he find any
place of safety until he reached the Low Countries.
This unexpected success — for which Ferdinand was
chiefly indebted to the extraordinary abilities of the
count de Tilly — was the prelude to others of even

THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 201

greater brilliancy. But his first care was to chastise
Bohemia, which lay suppliant at his feet ; and he suf-
fered no considerations of justice, still less of mercy, to
arrest the rod. By one sweeping decree, seven hundred
of the noblest families were proscribed ; and though
their lives were reluctantly spared, their estates were
confiscated. Hungary was soon forced to yield, — Gaber
suing for peace, which he obtained on favourable con-
ditions. The ban of the empire was now published
against Frederic and his chief adherents ; the palatinate
was divided among the catholic princes ; and the electoral
dignity, from time immemorial attached to it, was in-
vested in the duchy of Bavaria, — a measure which, by
increasing the number of catholic votes in the electoral
college, was as politic as it was revengeful. In con-
sternation at the triumph of their opponents, the pro-
testant states of Lower Saxony began to draw closer the
relaxed bonds of their union, and to importune for aid
the kings of England, Sweden, and Denmark. Ambition,
rather than love of religion, induced Christian IV. to
arm, and place himself at the head of the confederates,
whose ranks were increased by some English, Scotch,
and Dutch adventurers. To oppose him, Ferdinand 1625.
sent two men who may be safely ranked among the ablest
generals of the seventeenth century — Tilly and Wald-
stein ; men whom merit alone raised from humble for-
tunes to the very summit of glory. In two campaigns the
protestant states were subdued ; and the Danish king was
not only expelled from the empire, but taught to tremble
for his hereditary dominions, until the treaty of Lubec
(1629) restored peace between the two parties. For the
successes of Ferdinand during these campaigns, we may
easily account. Never before had the catholic party
been so unanimous in sustaining the head of the empire.
Beholding their religion proscribed in some provinces,
barely tolerated in others, and menaced in all, they did,
on this occasion, yield a support as cordial as it was ex-
tensive. Add the influence of bribes and promises, es-
pecially the prospect of sharing the spoils of the defeated

202 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

protestants ; the daring assaults, the consummate ability,
of the two generals, Tilly and Waldstein ; the aid of
money and troops from Spain and Italy; and this success
will cease to surprise us. Unfortunately, if Ferdinand
was great in adversity, he was overbearing in prosperity.
Unawed, after the retreat of Christian, by a single
enemy sufficiently powerful to resist him, he abolished
the exercise of the protestant religion in Bohemia ; ex-
iled or put to death the more influential dissidents; and
forced the common people to change their faith ; while
the substance of all lay at his mercy. Above 30,000
families, comprising the most laborious and useful of
the population, preferring their consciences to their
country and friends, sought refuge in the protestant
states. These vindictive measures inflicted on the king-
dom a blow from which it has never recovered. Em-
boldened by the facility with which his atrocious decrees
were carried into execution, his next design was to ex-
tirpate the protestant religion from other parts of Ger-
many. But as great caution was here necessary, he
began by insisting on the restitution of such ecclesiastical
property as the protestants had usurped since the peace
of Passau, — a measure in which he expected the cordial
support of the catholics. And by dividing the pro-
testant body, to weaken it still more, he called for the
execution of the act which allowed to the members of
the Augsburg Confession only, the rights of toleration ;
and which, consequently, condemned the Calvinists to
apostasy or exile. The first decree was generally en-
forced ; the protestant princes being compelled, in a
majority of cases, to resign their usurped lands and
revenues to the monastic and collegiate bodies, the
former owners. But the jealousy of the catholics them-
selves saved its entire execution. Contemplating the
rising power of their emperor, the strict union which
reigned between the Spanish and German branches of
the Austrian house, and a late edict by which the elec-
tive privilege in Bohemia had been abolished, they began
to be alarmed for their own civil privileges. That house

THE THIRTY YEARS* WAR. 203

had once threatened, and apparently now intended, to
make them as dependent on the sovereign power, as the
grandees of Spain. Esteeming heresy as an evil far
more tolerable than degradation, and feeling, no doubt,
that they too were fattening on the spoils of the church,
— let not the protestants be regarded as the sole, but
merely as the chief plunderers, — they secretly per-
suaded the protestants to resist the further execution of
the decree. Hence the strong language of the diet at
Ratisbon, which, in reply to his request that his son
Maximilian might be elected king of the Romans, in-
sisted on the reduction of his vast army, and on the
dismissal of Waldstein, its renowned general. For this
unexpected union of the catholics and protestants, — nay,
for the junction of the former with the latter, in ex-
claiming against the Edict of Restitution, — other reasons
than jealousy of the imperial authority might be as-
signed. Both hated Waldstein : first, because he was
an upstart; and, secondly, because his troops were com-
mitting the most horrible excesses wherever they were
quartered. Many among both were gained by the
money or intrigues of France, which, constant in its
enmity to the house of Austria, seized every opportunity
of exciting the German states to rebel. The tone of the
protestants was further emboldened by the news, that
Gustavus Adolphus king of Sweden, whom their own
entreaties, and the intrigues of France, had filled with
the ambition of becoming the head of the reformed
league, was preparing to invade the empire. Gustavus
had, indeed, personal wrongs to revenge. His relation,
Sigismund of Poland, with whom he had been at war
for the throne of Sweden, had always received support
from the head of the Austrian house ; and his claim to
some districts on the southern shores of the Baltic was
disputed alike by Poland and the states. Add to these
considerations, the fame which he enjoyed as a hero :
he had forced Denmark and Russia to make peace, and
had over-run some of the maritime provinces of Poland,
of which he now held possession. Inspired by hopes

204 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

which, however ardent, were scarcely romantic, he dis-
embarked in Pomerania ; forced the electors of Bran-
denburg and Saxony, whom jealousy or separate interests
held aloof from the protestant association, to support
it ; concluded a treaty of alliance with France ; and thus
entered on a career destined to be for ever memorable in
the annals of Germany, and, indeed, of Europe. As
the transactions of this period have occupied a thousand
pens, and as the celebrated history of Schiller is a house-
hold book, we may well omit them. Suffice it to ob-
serve, that success, though with some occasional checks,
long declared for the protestants ; that Gustavus pene-
trated into the very heart of the Austrian states, — of
Bohemia and Bavaria ; that he humbled, one by one,
the catholic electors, thus laying the empire at his feet;
that Tilly, the most renowned general of Ferdinand —
one well able to cope with the Swedish hero — fell in
battle ; that his place, however, was efficiently supplied
by Waldstein, — a less consummate general, indeed, but,
if possible, of superior daring, and certainly above him
in the native resources of genius ; that, at the great
battle of Lutzen (1632), the Swedish hero died in the
arms of victory ; that, though he left his kingdom ex-
posed to the troubles of a minority — his daughter Chris-
tina being only in her seventh year — the war was vigor-
ously prosecuted by the regent Oxenstiern ; that, though
"Waldstein was assassinated at the instigation of Fer-
dinand, whom his arrogance had offended, and who was
jealous of his views, the catholic party, like the pro-
testant, would not allow the loss of its military head to
suspend hostilities ; that the policy of Ferdinand was
sufficient to sow jealousy and dissension among the re-
formed princes ; that the victory gained by the imperial
general at Nordlingen counterbalanced all the prior ad-
vantages of the protestants, equaling in brilliancy the
glorious deeds of Gustavus ; that this general, the arch-
duke Ferdinand, eldest son of the emperor, who had
been crowned king of Hungary and Bohemia, pursued
the advantage; that, in 1&35, the elector of Saxony, in

THE THIRTY YEAHs' WAR. 205

a treaty at Prague, was reconciled to the emperor ; that
the junction of the imperial and Saxon troops against
the Swedes and the protestant states of the empire gave
a preponderance to the cause, which no efforts of the
reformed league, aided by the intrigues of England,
Holland, and France, was able to counteract ; that all
the members, except the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel,
convinced of the fruitlessness of resistance, adhered, one
by one, to the pacification of Prague — thus engaging to
expel the Swedes, to whom they were indebted for their
restoration to their civil privileges ; and that when
Ferdinand died, in l6'37, two months after witnessing
the election and coronation of his son as king of the
Romans, he had the satisfaction to know, that none but
foreigners — the Swedes and their allies the French —
were seriously intent on perpetuating the troubles of
the realm. It must yet be observed, that this treaty of
Prague was not calculated to ensure a lasting peace. It
did not settle the everlasting disputes consequent on the
reformation : it merely stipulated, that while the pro-
testant princes should retain, jure proprietario, the
church lands which had been secularised previous to the
treaty of Passau in 1552, and while they should pos-
sess during forty years those which they had subse-
quently usurped, the fate of the latter species of benefices
should be decided according to their individual merits,
either by arbitration, or by the ordinary tribunals of jus-
tice. If these conditions were acceptable to the elector
of Saxony, whom the cession of Lusatia bound to the im-
perial will, they did not satisfy the reformers, who were
at a loss to conceive by what authority he thus negotiated
for the whole body, and who censured him for abandon-
ing the interests of the count palatine. All, however, who
had shared in the troubles of Bohemia — especially its
vain and worthless puppet king — were justly excluded
from the benefit of this treaty ; and instead of blaming,
we should praise the elector, for insisting on any advan-
tage in favour of his co-religionists, when the chief
design of the pacification regarded his own house. — Of

206 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

Ferdinand II. we have only to add, that, if he was a
cruel bigot ; if he was sometimes perfidious, — witness
his connivance at the assassination of Waldstein, — he
was generally swayed by conscientious motives, was
regular in his habits, pure in his morals, constant in
adversity, persevering in every purpose, comprehensive
in his views, just, liberal, and, whenever his religious
prejudices were not concerned, merciful. Had he been
less subservient to mistaken notions of religious duty, he
would have been every way worthy of the throne ; for
his was an imperial mind. By his abilities and genius,
he caused his authority to be much respected : yet, from
the very terms of his capitulation with the electors, he
had no peculiar advantages ; nor was the imperial power
less circumscribed by compact than it had ever been.
Without the consent of the electors, he could not make
alliances, nor alienate domains, nor revoke alienations
before made, nor declare war, nor employ the German
forces beyond the bounds of the empire, nor levy con-
tributions even when the urgency of the affair for-
. bade the assembling of a diet, nor convoke diets, nor
publish the ban, nor confer open fiefs, nor grant either
expectatives or the right to coin money. The consent
of the states, as well as that of the electors, was required
for the imposition of new taxes, and even the restoration
of former ones j for the graduation of the contributions,
for the establishment of monitory laws, and of commer-
cial regulations, for the declaration of war, and the con-
clusion of peace. It is, therefore, evident, that the
prerogatives of Ferdinand were exceedingly bounded ;
but his personal character enabled him to obtain an
ascendancy denied him by the constitution.*

1637 FERDINAND III., king of Bohemia and of Hungary,
to succeeded, in virtue of his election as king of the Ro-

1648.

* PufFendorf, Rerum Suecicarum, lib. i. Struvius, Corpus Historic
Germ. p. 1212—1303. Pfeflel, Histoire, torn. ii. Barre, Histoire de
1' Empire, torn. ix. Denina, Delle Rivoluzioni della Gennania, torn. v.
(variis capitulis). Schiller, Histoire de la Guerre de Trente Ans, p. 1 — 200.
Histoire de Gustave Adolphe, torn. i. — iv., passim. Schmidt, Histoire,
torn. ix. et x. Havenhuller, Annales Ferdinand! II. (sub anriis). Coxe,
House of Austria, chap. 47—56.

FERDINAND III. 20J

mans, to the imperial throne without opposition. He
found the Swedes and French still in possession of
several important cities of Saxony, and preparing for a
vigorous campaign. As he, on his side, was bound
alike by duty and interest to follow the policy of his
father, he collected all the revenues which his station
and circumstances afforded him. The war was accord-
ingly renewed with fury, but nothing decisive for either
party was the result : if to-day one prince was seduced
from his allegiance to the head of the state, on the next
the paternal admonitions of the emperor recalled him
from his wanderings : if victory was gained one day by
the combined Swedes and French, assisted by the open
or secret wishes of some protestant states, it was neu-
tralised on another by an equally signal advantage to
the imperial troops. But this harassing warfare was
severely felt by Germany. The excesses committed on
every side by restless and ferocious bodies of foreigners,
and even by the natives, destroyed all social security,
and made even humble individuals tremble for their
persons no less than for their substance. The whole
people began to perceive, that if foreign interests gained
by the continuance of the war, by the weakening of the
empire and its head, Germany was rapidly hastening to
internal ruin, — probably to subjugation by France and
Sweden. Not merely the greatness, the existence of
the empire was in jeopardy ; and this conviction
spread widely and deeply among the princes and states.
Such as had been most corrupted by the gold of France,
or the promises of Sweden, began to join the demand
for peace ; and for this purpose negotiations were opened ;
though from the vicissitudes of the war, from the con-
sequent elation of one party and the depression of the
other, years elapsed before they were brought to a con-
clusion. Munster was chosen as the place where the
emperor should settle his conflicting affairs with France ;
Osnaburg, with Sweden. The war, however, continued ;
the negotiations being protracted, not merely by the
alternations of success and failure, but by the dissensions

208 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

of the Germanic body itself. Ferdinand wished to
remove the princes and states from all share in
the deliberations, the right of which he restricted to
the electors alone : they naturally insisted on what was
their constituted right from the very foundation of the
monarchy. Yet we may doubt whether its exercise
was desirable ; since, in times less critical than the pre-
sent, it had given rise to serious troubles. A multitude
of petty states, discordant alike for their religious prin-
ciples and their rival interests, were not likely to act in
concert. In the end, a compromise was effected, — the
princes and states being allowed to be present by their
deputies. Though this obstacle was removed, enough
remained. To reconcile opposite and ever jarring in-
terests— the claims of the protestants with the pre-
tensions of the Roman catholics, the authority of the
emperor with the independence of the states, the con-
flicting interests of the territorial princes and munici-
palities with those of the electors, — required patience,
candour, magnanimity on both sides. The wars which
had so long devastated Germany, had, indeed, been
fomented and conducted by foreign powers, but they
had originated in the conflict of German interests.
Thus it was as necessary to reconcile, as it was
to disarm, the French and Swedes; otherwise the
same causes of disunion would eternally operate and
infallibly terminate in the destruction of the confederate
body — of the great work which Charlemagne had
founded, which ages had cemented, and of which the
preservation was demanded by the voice of Europe no
less than by that of the empire. After six years had
elapsed from the opening of the preliminaries, the treaty
of Osnaburg, between the emperor, Sweden, and the pro-
testant states, was agreed on in August, 1 648 ; that of
Munster, between the emperor, France, and her allies, the
following month ; and both were duly signed at Mun-
ster on the same day, the 24th of October. This
pacification, known as the peace of Westphalia, from
the circumstance of both cities being contained in that

PEACE OF WESTPHALIA. 209

province, will be memorable through all time, both from
its having served as the foundation of the international
law of Europe, of the policy generally adopted by each
state, and from its having correctly defined the claims
of protestants and Roman catholics, the bounds of the
imperial, the electoral, the aristocratical, and the municipal
powers. It is, in the strictest sense, the key of modern
history. For this reason, we shall dwell more largely
on it than on any other subject in the present com-
pendium.*

The articles of this famous treaty may be classed
under three great heads, or compacts. 1. With foreign
and the neighbouring powers. 2. Between protest-
ants and Roman catholics. 3. Between the imperial,
the electoral, the territorial and municipal authorities.

1. In the first place, the limits and the revenues of 1648.
the empire were alike narrowed by this fatal war of
thirty years. During the late reigns — in fact, during the
greater part of a century — the Netherlands had been but
loosely connected with the Germanic body. The se-
paration of the two branches of the Austrian house had
placed them under the rigid government of Philip II
king of Spain : they revolted ; and though the contest
was long protracted, it ended in the acknowledgment
by Spain of their independence, — an acknowledgment
sanctioned by Ferdinand, who had no means of resist-
ing the will alike of those provinces, of France, Sweden,
Denmark, and England — all intent on humbling the
house of Austria. The Swiss, whom the tyranny of some
of the Austrian sovereigns originally, and the intrigues of
France subsequently, had driven into successful re
bellion, were equally fortunate. Their independence
had long been virtual; it had even been tacitly ac-
knowledged from the time of Maximilian I. ; but as the
imperial chamber had occasionally issued decrees against

* Struvius, Corpus Historic, pars x. sect. 10. Pfeffel, Histoire, torn. ii.
(sub annis). Schmidt, Histoire, torn. x. et xi. (passim). Coxe, House of
Austria (Reign of Ferdinand III.). Barre, Histoire, torn. xi. Puflendorf,
De Rebus Suecicis (sub annis).

210 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

them, they obtained, in 1647, a declaration from the
emperor and states, that it was full and complete ;
and in the present treaty it was solemnly confirmed ;
all Switzerland, the bishop of Basil excepted, being
freed from the jurisdiction of diets and chambers, and
recognised as a body politic. Thus were two great
countries, which had once been portions of the empire,
and the recovery of which had never been wholly aban-
doned, for ever separated from the confederation. But
worse than all this, were the encroachments made on
the actual limits of the empire by France and Sweden.
The motive which had induced the former country to
support the discontented, to foment the spirit where it
already existed, and to create it where it did not, was
always apparent to the discerning : in the treaty of
Westphalia it was unblushingly proclaimed to the
world. She insisted on nothing less than the removal
of her boundary to the Rhine ! She compelled the em-
pire to renounce all sovereignty over Metz, Toul, and
Verdun — bishoprics which she had usurped during the
wars of Charles V. with the protestants, and held ever
since ; and over Pignerol, which she had also wrested
from the duke of Savoy : she exacted the cession of
Upper and Lower Alsace, Sundgau, Haguenau, and the
town of Brissac, together with the territorial superiority
and sovereign rights such as they had been exercised
by the empire and the house of Austria ; and she ob-
tained the right to govern Philipsberg ! Such was the
humiliating termination of the religious wars which, from
the time of Martin Luther, had afflicted the empire !
Such the magnanimity of the French court, avowedly
ready at every moment to defend the oppressed ! Strange
infatuation — but surely a worse term might be em-
ployed— that of the protestants, to believe that, while
the French court was slaughtering dissidents from the
Romish communion in every part of the kingdom, it
was eager to protect them in Germany ! Religious ani-
mosity — persecution on the side of the dominant
catholics, rebellion on that of the reformed states — thus

PEACE OF WESTPHALIA. 211

dissevered from Germany the fairest provinces on the
left bank of the Rhine. Hence impartial history must
condemn both, nearly in an equal degree. — The Swedes
were no less eager to share in the spoils of an empire
which its own children had offered to the stranger.
Her first demands were for the duchies of Pomerania
and Silesia, and for the secularisation of several epis-
copal and archiepiscopal sees. She obtained the whole
of Upper Pomerania, several towns and fortresses in
Lower Pomerania, the isles of Rugen and Wollin, the
city of Wismar, with the secularisation of Bremen,
which was changed from an archbishopric to a duchy,
and of Verden, which became a secular principality —
the chapters and religious foundations of both being for
ever abolished. To lessen, in the eyes of the vulgar,
the odium of this transaction, it was pretended that
these countries were to be held as fiefs of the empire,
and that the Swedish king should enjoy a seat and vote
in the German diets. Of this pretext, the deception
was sufficiently exposed by the fact, that he would not
allow the inhabitants to be in any degree dependent on
the Aulic council or the imperial chamber, or any of
the tribunals recognised by the confederate states, and
that he obtained an unlimited exemption from appeal
in all the districts thus usurped. Such was the result
of the generous zeal which Sweden had professed in be-
half of her co-religionists in Germany ! of the victories
which " that hero of protestantism," the great Gustavus,
had won. However tenderly the conduct of both
France and Sweden, from the middle of the six-
teenth to that of the seventeenth century, may have
been treated by historians, it deserves the universal
reprobation of mankind. How came Ferdinand to
sanction, the diet to permit, this dismemberment of
the empire ? The cause must be sought in the dif-
ficult position of both : the former trembled for his
hereditary possessions ; the latter, for their existence as
a confederation ; and both agreed to surrender a part
for the preservation of the rest. A more serious re-
p 2

212 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

sistance was apprehended from the elector of Branden-
burg, the undisputed sovereign of Pomerania. To
appease him, he was enabled by Sweden to obtain the
secularisation of one archbishopric, Magdeburg ; and
of three bishoprics, Halberstadt, Minden, and Camin :
the first he obtained with the title of duchy ; the three
latter as principalities ; each of the four giving him a
vote in the diets. In the same manner, the duke of
Mecklenburg obtained the secularisation as temporal
principalities of two sees, Schwerin and Ratzeburg,
with two commendaries of St. John, in return for the
important port of Wismar, surrendered to Sweden.
But some princes of the house of Brunswick Lunenburg
had exercised the secular coadjutorship — in other words
had been allowed, during a certain period, to share the
usurped revenues — of Magdeburg, Bremen, Halber-
stadt, and Ratzeburg. With the same dexterity, Sweden
satisfied their rapacity by insisting on their having
the alternate nomination to the see of Osnaburg, — that
nomination to be made in favour of a prince of that
house. Again, if the landgrave of Hesse-Cassal had
surrendered nothing, he had yet adhered with un-
shaken attachment to the alliance of Sweden, which in
return procured for him the lordship of Schaumburg,
the secularisation of the princely abbey of Hirschfeld,
with a voice in the diet, and a considerable sum of
money. In a better spirit, this power, which was as
grateful as it was rapacious, insisted on some indem-
nification to Charles Ludovic, son of the wild elector
palatine, who had been driven from Bohemia and Ger-
many, and had died in exile, — a demand seconded by
all the protestant princes, whose representatives were
present as allies, mediators, or guarantees. It was at
length agreed that the Upper Palatinate, with the elec-
toral dignity, should remain to Bavaria, but that the
Lower should be formed into a new electorate in favour
of Charles. Thus eight electors were recognised ; but
to avert all abuse of such a precedent, since there was
believed to be some mysterious virtue in the number

PEACE OF WESTPHALIA. 213

seven, it was provided that if either of the two rival
houses of Bavaria and the Palatinate became extinct,
the new electorate, to which was attached the dignity
of grand treasurer, should be extinguished. Lastly,
the states which had shared in the recent troubles,
which had borne arms against the emperor in the thirty
years' war, were, through the good offices of Sweden
and France, included in the general amnesty. — Such
were the chief provisions of the treaty in regard to
foreign powers, and to the Germanic allies. Most of
them were trebly obnoxious : they dismembered, and
consequently weakened, the empire ; they were in the
last degree humiliating to the national honour ; and
those which regarded the secularisation of church pro-
perty were more infamous to all parties concerned, than
any thing which had happened since the spoliation of
the English monasteries by our eighth Henry. That
possessions which had been granted by ancient piety
for the support of religion, for the relief of the poor,
for the exercise of hospitality, for the encouragement
of learning, should thus be converted from their legiti-
mate uses, and transferred to the vilest ; that they
should thus become the prey of needy princes, of
courtiers, and of courtesans, to the destruction of what-
ever had been venerated as holy ; is the deepest of all
stains on the character of the reformation. While
hailing that reformation as in many respects a mighty
good, let not impartial history conceal the evils which
it directly or indirectly produced. Let us hold in ever-
lasting execration the plundering ruffians of the En-
glish Henry ; let the same feeling animate us when we
hear of the Lutheran and Calvinistic princes of Ger-
many !*

2. The articles which regarded religion were less
censurable — or rather, most of them deserve unmixed

* Putter, Historical Developement, vol. ii. Struvius, Corpus Histories
Germanica?, p. 1327, &c. Bougeant, Histoire de la Paix de Westphalie,
passim. Dumont, Corps Diplomatique, torn. vi. part i. p. 4PO, &c. _ Puf-
iendorf, De Rebus Suecicis, lib. 20. Pfeffel, Abr£g£ Chronolofique,
torn. i. A. D. 16±8.

p 3

214 HISTORY OP THE OEB1IANIC EMPIRE.

approbation. The foundation of the compact was the
ample confirmation of the treaty of Passau made in
1552, and of the religious peace established three
years afterwards. Hitherto the Calvinists had been
excluded from the benefits of both : they were now
placed on the same footing as the Lutherans.

" A general equality was maintained among the princes
and states of the empire, whether catholics, Lutherans, or
Calvinists. The dispute concerning the ecclesiastical reserv-
ation was finally settled by the declaration, that all ecclesi-
astical benefices, mediate or immediate, should remain in, or
be restored to, the same state as on the 1st of January, 1624,
which was termed ' the definitive year.' But in regard to
the dominions of the elector palatine, the margrave of Baden,
and the duke of Wurtemburg, 1618 was fixed as the definitive
year, on account of the changes in civil and ecclesiastical
affairs, introduced by the imperialists and Spaniards during
their invasion of the palatinate. The article of the ecclesiastical
reservation was recapitulated almost in the same words as in
the peace of religion ; but instead of being confined to the ca-
tholics, was extended to the members of the Confession of
Augsburg, by the stipulation that, if an incumbent of an
ecclesiastical office, whether catholic or protestant, should
change his religion, he should be considered as having vacated
his office, and another person of the same religion be appointed
in his place.

" All other princes and states, immediate members of the
empire, possessing sovereign power, are allowed to change
their religion, or reform the public worship of their dominions,
in all cases not limited by the treaty, or by compacts with their
subjects. Unfortunately, however, the disputes subsisting
among the protestants occasioned the introduction of a clause
to explain this right of reformation, by which a Lutheran or
Calvinist prince, possessor of territorial sovereignty, or patron
of any church, who should change his religion, or acquire a
territory of which the subjects enjoyed the public exercise of a
different religion, was allowed to retain preachers for his own
residence and court, and permit his subjects to embrace the
same persuasion, but was not to make any innovation in the
established worship.

" Although no similar regulation was mentioned, or even
necessary, in regard to the catholics ; and although this clause
is specifically described as a convention between the two pro-
testant sects; yet the catholics afterwards availed themselves of

PEACE OF WESTPHALIA. 215

this article to arrogate the same privileges as the Lutherans
and Calvinists conceded to each other.

" The subjects of either church differing from their lord or
sovereign, possessed in the definitive year of ecclesiastical pro-
perty, or enjoying the free exercise of their religion, were still
to retain that property, and enjoy that toleration in perpetuity,
or till a final arrangement of religious disputes. Even catholic
subjects of a state which adhered to the Confession of Augs-
burg, or members of the Confession of Augsburg, subjects of
catholic states, who did not enjoy the public or private exercise
of their worship in the definitive years, or who, after the peace,
should embrace a different religion from their territorial lord,
were to be tolerated, and not prevented from performing their
devotions in their own houses, or even assisting at the public
exercise of their worship in places where it was tolerated in
the vicinity. They were, also, permitted to provide for the
education of their children, either by sending them to foreign
schools of their own persuasion, or by entertaining preceptors
in their houses ; and they were to enjoy the same rights and
privileges, personal, civil, and commercial, as their fellow-sub-
jects. But this toleration was, in a great degree, rendered
dependent by the addition that all subjects, who, in the defini-
tive year, did not possess the free exercise of their worship, and
should be inclined to change their place of residence, or should
be dismissed by their sovereign on the same account, should,
in the first case, be allowed five, and in the last three years, to
dispose of, or carry away their goods and property.

" The point for which the protestants had long laboured
was also terminated in their favour. No decree of the diet
was to pass by a majority of suffrages, but by amicable ac-
commodation ; first, in all causes of religion ; secondly, in all
other affairs where the states could not be considered as a single
body ; and, thirdly, in all cases in which the catholics and
protestants should divide into two parties. In regard to the
mode of voting public impositions, the question was referred
to the ensuing diet. Diets of deputation, likewise, were to be
composed of equal numbers of the two religions ; and, in ex-
traordinary commissions, the officers or commissaries were to
be all protestants, if the affair concerned the protestants; all
catholics, if the catholics ; and an equal number of each, if it
concerned both religions. Finally, the dignity of the pro-
testant body was secured by guaranteeing to their beneficiaries,
who were entitled to seats in the diet, or in the college of
princes, a peculiar between the catholic ecclesiastics and the
secular members, with the distinction of ' Postulated' annexed
to their respective dignities.

p 4

21(5 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC E1IPIRK.

/" With respect to the Aulic council and imperial chamber,
the amendment of the abuses which had been the early and
constant theme of complaint among the protestants, was re-
ferred to the ensuing diet; but in the present instance, a few
general regulations were established, tending to secure to the
protestants the impartial administration of justice, and an equal
share in those tribunals.

" The rights of the 'pope, in regard to catholic sees and be-
nefices, were guaranteed ; and the privileges of presentation,
which belonged to the emperor both with regard to catholic
and protestant benefices, with the sole restriction that he was
to replace catholic with catholic, and protestant with protestant
ecclesiastics. Finally, all dubious expressions were to be in-
terpreted and decided by a full diet, or settled by amicable
accommodation between the states of both persuasions." *

3. The regulations adopted in regard to the civil
constitution and internal police of the empire are still
more deserving of our attention. Their most remark-
able feature is the direct influence exercised over them
by France and Sweden, which, in reality, legislated for
Germany. On this subject we borrow the words of an
eminent native jurist.

" One of the principal political grievances which were in-
quired into, in the negotiations of the peace, related to the
sovereignty of the states of the Germanic empire over their re-
spective territories. Although actual possession, and the cus-
tom of several centuries, pleaded in their favour, yet doubts
still frequently arose concerning the rights of which every
state could claim the exercise within the limits of his country.
It was said that they had only a right to such regalia, or rights,
as they had been particularly invested with ; but that these
did not comprehend all the rights of sovereignty. Against
this, however, the powers of France and Sweden procured an
express declaration in the peace, ' that all and each individual
state of the empire should be protected and established in the
free exercise of their territorial power, and the possession of
all their rights, and be molested by no one, let him be who he
would, in future.' Whatever rights of sovereignty, therefore,
are comprehended in the supreme power of a state, such rights
are attributed as the territorial power of every state, though they
are not totally independent, but acknowledge a subordination
to the emperor and empire ; and that certain prerogatives which

. * Putter, Historical Developement, voL ii.

PEACE OF WESTPHALIA. 217

belonged to the emperor before the establishment of the ter-
ritorial sovereignty throughout Germany, continued peculiar
to him, as his so denominated Reserved Rights. These are,
principally, the rights of conferring titles of rank, and acade-
mical degrees, and certain other prerogatives, such as granting
a right to establish tolls and mints, with which it is at least
requisite to be invested by the emperor. All other rights,
however late in their origin, are now included of themselves
in the right of territorial sovereignty.

" It was expressly declared in the peace, that each indivi-
dual state should be perpetually at liberty to form alliances
for their preservation and security among themselves, as well
as with foreign powers, provided such alliances were not
against the emperor and empire. By this it was determined
that every state can form any sort of league, not only as
the ally of another power, but as the belligerent party. Of
course, therefore, they had the power of making war and con-
cluding peace. The public peace, and the relation in which
all the imperial states stand, as members of the same empire,
in mutual connection with each other, lay them, however,
under this natural restriction, — that one state cannot invade
another. (But what if two foreign powers are at war, and
one of these is allied with one state of the empire, and the
other power with another ? which may really be, and actually
was the case in the northern war, which afterwards broke out
when the electorate of Saxony allied with Denmark and Bruns-
wick, Zelle with Sweden ; and the Saxons, as auxiliaries in
the Danish service, broke in upon the country of Zelle.)

" Among the prerogatives and even lands in the possession
of the states, there were many which had been formerly mort-
gaged to them by some of the emperors.

" Such imperial mortgages, it is true, had been generally
renewed by one emperor after another ; and even since the time
of Charles V., a promise was contained in the election capi-
tulation to confirm the mortgages to the different states, and
protect them in the possession of them. But notwithstanding
this, according to the nature of mortgages, there always re-
mained a possibility of their being redeemed, which Ferdi-
nand II. had already attempted with the imperial cities of
Lindau and Weissenburg, in the Nordgau. The apprehensions
arising from this circumstance were removed by a declaration,
that although mortgages among the states themselves should
be considered as redeemable, the imperial ones should remain
in the hands of their possessors.* To this article many of the

* In the last capitulation of 1742, art. 10. § 4. it is still more decisively
expressed, " to protect the states in the imperial mortgages in their pos*

218 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

imperial cities are indebted for the preservation of their rights
of provostship *, which had been formerly mortgaged to them
by the emperors, and by the redemption of which most of the
imperial cities would have had the emperor for their real ter-
ritorial lord.

" The imperial cities in general were fully confirmed in pos-
session of their customary regalia, and entire sovereignty and
jurisdiction, both within their walls, and in the territories under
their dominion. The free imperial nobility, or knights of the
empire, were confirmed, likewise, in their immediacy, as esta-
blished by custom ; and with respect to their religion, were
allowed the same indulgences as those granted to the states.
Even certain immediate parishes were included in the peace,
which are still distinguished by the name of imperial vil-
s."f

In regard to the prerogatives of the diet, and the con-
stitution of the imperial chamber, good caution was
demanded.

" The imperial court was disposed to consider it as a matter
entirely dependent on the emperor's pleasure, whether he found
it necessary to hold a diet or not, and in what cases he stood
in need of the opinion or resolution J of the states, and when
he might reject it. They seemed inclined to attribute a con-
fined sense to the term ' Reichsgutachen' (opinion of the em-
pire); as if it were to be considered only as good counsel, which
rested solely on the pleasure of the emperor whether he would
follow it or not, without his being necessarily bound to act
with the consent of the empire. Against this, however, both
crowns immediately insisted ' that the states should enjoy a
freedom of voting in all deliberations on the affairs of the em-
pire, particularly when the question was either to make or
explain laws, make war, impose taxes, make regulations re-
specting the recruiting or quartering of troops, erect new for-
tifications in the territories of the states, or garrison such as
existed before, conclude peace, enter into alliances, or other

session, without redeeming or reclaiming them, and leave them in that
state till further agreement."

* Reichsvogteylicke Rechta The word vogt is supposed to have been
corrupted in the middle ages from the Latin advocatus. The business of
this officer is that of a bailiff or provost, to administer justice in the re-
spective districts.

t Putter, Historical Developement, voL ii. We hope no apology will
be required for our quoting so largely from this eminent publicist

t Gutachten is the opinion of the states, somewhat in the form of a bill
of our English parliament before it receives the king's assent

PEACE OF WESTPHALIA. 219

business of a similar nature; that in future none of these things,
nor any of the same kind, should be done or permitted without
the diet having first given its consent, and all the states allowed
the freedom of voting.'

" The imperial ambassadors proposed that one more clause
should be added, ' that all this should be understood with
the reservation of those rights which belonged to the emperor
alone, or jointly to him and the electorial college, and, in ge-
neral, according to ancient custom.' This, however, was in
vain ; for when the ambassadors of the two powers took occa-
sion from this circumstance to propose, that the imperial court
should deliver in a list of such reservata, as they were called,
the emperor's minister scrupled to do it. It is probable that
disputes would have arisen respecting the number of rights;
whether they were comprehended in the reservata or not ; and
then at last, perhaps, the emperor's power would have been
expressly limited to certain rights there mentioned. Thus,
this article was at last inserted in both the treaties of peace,
as proposed by the two crowns. Since that period, doubts
have been liable to arise concerning what was included in the
expressions, ' affairs of the empire, other business of a similar
nature, or any thing of the same kind;' or how far the em-
peror's reserved rights, on the other hand, legally extended
over certain objects. For instance, if the supreme judicial
power is a reserved right of the emperor, whether, and how
far, he may act for himself at a visitation of the imperial cham-
ber, and dispense with this or other regulations.

" The only question which was the subject of debate con-
cerning the internal constitution of the diet was, whether the
imperial cities should have a vote in the general diets, and in
all particular assemblies of the states, as well as the states
themselves. Ever since deputies were sent from the imperial
cities to the diets, they had been allowed only a deliberative,
and not a decisive vote ; a votum consultivum, not decisivum.
Even in the reign of Charles V. the imperial cities complained
of this against the other states. The peace now declared in
their favour, that they should always be included under the
denomination of states of the empire ; and that their votes and
those of the other states should be of equal value.

" Every thing else was left as it was established by custom.
It had long been usual for the electoral college to hold their
deliberations apart from the college of princes ; and afterwards
these two, which, with respect to the imperial cities, were called
the superior colleges, agreed by Re and Correlation* on a

* When the two colleges are deliberating upon any particular subject,
the result of the deliberations of each is communicated to the other by

220 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

joint resolution, before the cities were invited, as the third col-
lege of the states, to join in a common resolution of all the
three colleges, and form an opinion of the empire.

" If the three colleges are not united, the question before
them generally drops : a majority of votes among them is of
no validity. The two superior colleges themselves have de-
clared, that they did not require this to the prejudice of the
cities ; much less is it allowed for them, in a difference of opi-
nion between the two superior colleges, to give the casting
vote. The decisive vote granted by the peace of Westphalia
to the imperial cities cannot, therefore, be taken in this sense.
The question there, was not concerning a majority of votes
among the three colleges, but of the right of the states to vote
in general, which was granted to the imperial cities in the same
manner as to other states opposed to the mere deliberative vote
which had been before attributed to them.* The effect of
this is of the greatest importance, which is evidenced in the
assembly of deputations, where a few electors, princes, prelates,
counts, and cities deliberate together in the name of all the
states ; in which case the vote of each of the imperial cities in-
dividually is exactly of the same validity as that of an elector
or a prince, or of a whole college of imperial counts or pre-
lates.

" It was ordained, that in the imperial chamber, in causes
in which catholic and protestant states were concerned with
each other, or even causes "where the parties were of the same,
and a third person intervened of a contrary, religion, there
should be a perfect equality of religion observed in the appoint-
ment of the members of the court. It had for this reason been
previously agreed upon, that the whole chamber should be
composed of an equal number of persons of both religions, — a
circumstance perfectly consistent with the principle, that in
this respect, in the empire in general, there was a mutual
equality. But when it was judged expedient to appoint fifty
assessors, that they might be divided into a greater number of
senates ; and that all the causes which were brought before the
court, which were very numerous, might be decided with
greater certainty, the protestant states were not allowed
twenty-five presentations, as they ought to have been in con-
formity to the principle of a perfect equality, but only twenty-
four. The catholic states, likewise, were properly to have had
only twenty-four presentations ; but the two which were want-

means of the Directorium, till they are united in the same opinion, which
is termed Re and Correlation.

* Putter's Contributions to the Knowledge of the Public Law, and Law
of Princes in Germany, vol. i. p. 77. 88.

PEACE OF WESTPHALIA. 221

ing in the number fifty, and which were both catholic, were
left to be presented by the emperor. The chamber, therefore,
did not preserve any just equality ; for twenty-six of the assessors
were catholics, and only twenty-four could be protestants,

" With regard to the protestant presentations, it was in-
serted in the peace, that the protestant electors of the Palatinate,
Saxony, and Brandenburg, should have the right of present-
ing two ; each of the two circles of Upper and Lower Saxony,
which were reckoned purely protestant, four, and that they
should alternately present a fifth ; the protestant states in the
mixed circles of Franconia, Swabia, the Upper Rhine, and
Westphalia, for each of them two; and for the four circles
together, alternately, another ; that they should present in all,
therefore, four and twenty protestant assessors. The division
of the presentations of the catholic states was referred to the
next diet. The four catholic electors of Mentz, Treves, Co-
logne, and Bavaria, were each of them allowed the right of
presenting two ; the circles of Bavaria, four; and the catholic
states of the mixed circles of Franconia, Swabia, the Upper
Rhine, and Westphalia, for each of the circles two; in all,
therefore, the same number, four and twenty catholic asses-
sors.

" There happened to be two or three protestant states in the
circle of Bavaria, as the counts of Wolfstein and Ottenburg,
and the imperial city of Ratisbon ; but as by far the greater
part of the members of the circle were of the other religion, it
was reckoned purely catholic. A particular provision, how-
ever, was made in the peace, that the circumstance of the pro-
testant states having no part in the presentation of the circle,
should not tend to their prejudice. It was the same case in
the circle of Lower Saxony, which passed for a purely pro-
testant circle, although the bishop of Hildesheim was a member
of it.

" At the first institution of the imperial chamber, there was
no idea of any other office than that of the chamber judge and
the assessors : the latter, viz. the assessors of the imperial
chamber, as they are now called, were to be at least half of
them noble. There were hopes that persons, even of high
nobility, would offer themselves; and at first, indeed, there
was a count of Eberstein, whom they honoured, as an assessor
of rank (assessor generosus), with a seat immediately next to
the judge, before all the others. As a court, according to the
ideas which then prevailed, could not be held unless a judge
presided, it was a great advantage for an assessor of rank to be
present, that, in case of the absence or sickness of the judge,
he might supply his place. This advantage was considerably

222 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

increased when the assessors were afterwards divided into dif-
ferent senates, and as each of these ought by right to have a
president of high nobility. Thus it was established as a law,
that the imperial chamber should always have two counts, or
barons, to preside in those senates where the judge himself
could not be present ; and who, in cases of necessity, should
supply the judge's place in general. These were afterwards
denominated presiding assessors ; and, at last, presidents of the
imperial chamber. Their presentation, however, was left to
the emperor; and in that manner they were mentioned in the
peace of Westphalia, that according to the proportion of fifty
assessors the emperor should appoint four presidents, and that
two of them should be catholics, and two protestants.*

" The office of the judge of the imperial chamber could not
be divided, and remained, therefore, very justly to be nominated
by the emperor alone. A proposal, however, was made, that
it should alternately be held by a catholic and protestant f ;
which, upon the whole, would not have been a disadvantageous
circumstance ; but in the treaty of Westphalia, the appointment
of the judge was absolutely left to the emperor, without re-
striction to any particular religion.

" A thing which yet remained to be inquired into in the
negotiations, was the important article of the Aulic council.
This point was so zealously agitated by the emperor's ministers,
that they several times declared, that an attempt to lay any
restriction upon the Aulic council was an attack upon the
crown and sceptre of the emperor. Notwithstanding this, the
grand question which had been so long debated, ' Whether
the emperor, or rather the Aulic council, might claim a con-
curring jurisdiction with the imperial chamber?' was not
expressly decided. The emperor's party contrived to manage
matters so well, that only a few objections made against the
Aulic council were removed by particular ordinances. The
affair itself seemed by this to be considered as settled.

" Thus, it had been alleged against the Aulic council, that
it had no judiciary laws, or order of process; without which
there could not well be a regular administration of justice, as

* If the emperor could be obliged to nominate two protestant presidents,
the two assessors presented by him could just as well be of both religions
equal : but instead of that the unequal number of twenty-six catholic
assessors, and twenty.four protestant ones, still remained, and has never
since been altered.

f According to the proceedings at the negotiation of the peace of Prague,
1635, J 26., the elector of Saxony proposed that, after the decease of the
catholic judge of the chamber then in office, there should be one nomi-
nated of the Confession of Augsburg, and after him again a catholic ; and
so a judge of each religion appointed alternately. This was then referred
to another meeting, and was to have been taken into immediate consider,
ation — Collection of Recesses of the Empire, parts, iii. 538.

PEACE OF WESTPHALIA. 223

it would otherwise be merely arbitrary. In the reigns of
Ferdinand I., Rudolphus II., and Matthias, it is true, there
were certain rules drawn up for the Aulic council *; but these
were not so much rules for proceeding in the court, as in-
structions, such as every collegiate council, which is designed
for the transaction of other business as well as affairs of jus-
tice, may receive from a sovereign, to direct them how business,
of whatever kind it may be, is to be brought forward and ex-
amined. The rules of the imperial chamber need only to be
compared with those of the Aulic council, to prove how very
far the latter were from affording any certain regulations
which a court of judicature could adopt to determine its legal
proceedings. This objection was answered by the court of
Trautmannsdorf, with the short declaration, that the emperor
would be pleased to adopt the rules of the imperial chamber
as rules for the Aulic council. It was established, therefore,
in the peace, that the Aulic council — or, as it was here ex-
pressed, the emperor's court of judicature — should be guided,
as far as related to its judiciary proceedings, by the rules of
the imperial chamber, in every respect whatever.

" Against this, indeed, it might be urged, that the rules of
the imperial chamber, which, in many respects, were adapted
to the particular constitution of that court, such as its division
into senates, &c., could not be applicable throughout to the
Aulic council, which was quite a different institution. This
objection was removed by the expectation, that entire new-
rules would be drawn up for the Aulic council, in which every
thing necessary might be inserted suitably to its own particular
constitution. The states were in hopes that these new regu-
lations, by virtue of the legislative power which the peace had
already made subject to the deliberations of the diet, would be
proposed at the next meeting, to be drawn up and promul-
gated; but Ferdinand III. took the whole upon himself, in
the same manner as the former emperors had made the rules
for the Aulic council, which had been hitherto in use as pri-
vate instructions for their counsellors. Before the next diet
was convened, he had a new set of rules drawn up and printed
at Vienna, and promulgated them without the consent of the
empire. In these, several articles of the Westphalian peace
were literally translated ; and when the states scrupled to admit
of such a legislation, he declared, that he was ready to hear their
remonstrances against it.

* The statutes for the Aulic council of Ferdinand I. were made April 3.
1559 ; those of Rudolphus II. were entitled, " Instructions for the Aulic
Council ;" those of Matthias were of July 3. 1617. They may be met with
altogether in the Appendix to UfFenbach de Consil. Imp. Aul. Mantiss.
p. 5—40.

224 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

" Another objection made to the Aulic council was, that it
was entirely composed of catholic members. The count of
Trautmannsdorf removed this, by consenting that the article
in the peace of Osnabruck, respecting the equality of religion
to be observed in the imperial chamber, should extend, like-
wise, to the Aulic council ; and it was further added, ' that
the emperor should for this end nominate to the Aulic council
a certain number of learned men, and men versed in the affairs
of the empire, who were of the Augsburg Confession, from
the protestant or mixed circles ; and there should be an ade-
quate number for an equality of assessors of both religions to
be observed, in cases where it was requisite." In the rules for
the council, which were afterwards made, Ferdinand more de-
cisively declared, ' that the Aulic council should not exceed
eighteen in number, including the president; and that, among
those eighteen, there should be six of the Augsburg Confession
taken from the circles.' This number of eighteen has been
several times exceeded : in the reign of Leopold, it amounted
to thirty-nine ; and still there were but six among the council
who were protestants, and one or two of these frequently absent
for a considerable length of time.

" As for a visitation, such as was usual with the imperial
chamber, this could not well be expected at the Aulic council.
On account of the connection in which that court stood, ac-
cording to its original establishment, with the imperial court of
chancery, it was formerly allowed for the elector of Mentz — as,
indeed, the rules for the council granted by the emperor Ma-
thias in the year 1617 still expressed it, — ' to visit and preside
over it, and continue such visits with the emperor's cognisance,
as often as necessity required.' But this visitation of the
elector of Mentz could not be put in comparison with that
which was customary at the imperial chamber. This, there-
fore, occasioned fresh matter for objection, that the states could
not place that confidence in the Aulic council which they could
in the chamber. On this point, it was only inserted in the
peace of Osnabruck, ' that the elector of Mentz should visit the
Aulic council as often as was necessary, with observation of
what the emperor in general, assembled at the diet, thought
fitting to be done." — ' In the rules of the Aulic council, says
Ferdinand III., ' as far as respects the visitation of our aulic
council, we leave it as ordained by the articles of the treaties
of Munster and Osnabruck.' In the late capitulation of 1742,
the following passage occurs : ' We shall and will take the
opinion of the empire concerning those articles which were left
by the peace of Westphalia for deliberation at the succeeding
diet, respecting the modum visilandi, or the kind and mode of

PEACE OF WESTPHALIA. 225

visitation, and give the resolution thence arising its due force
and efficacy. In the mean time, however, we permit the visit-
ation from the elector of Mentz, as- arch- chancellor of the Holy
Roman Empire, to be continued every three years, till another
is fixed upon at the diet which shall lay the acts of the visit-
ation before the states of the empire ; and that, wherever a
deficiency appears, the diet shall make suitable provision for its
remedy.' But the effect of this is still to be expected.

" Besides the complaint made of the want of a visitation,
and laws for regular proceedings in the court, another objec-
tion was made, that there was no legal resort by which parties
who thought themselves aggrieved might hope for redress, as
in the imperial chamber, where every aggrieved party was at
liberty to apply for revision. To remove this objection, it was
inserted in the peace of Osnabruck, ' In order that persons
having causes depending before the Aulic council should not
be wholly deprived of all legal resort, such as think them-
selves aggrieved by the sentence of that court, instead of the
revision in use in the imperial chamber, shall be at liberty to
supplicate his imperial majesty that the judiciary writings may
be again revised, with the concurrence oran equal number of
other impartial counsellors of both religions, who are able to
judge of the cause, and were not present when the sentence
was first passed, or at least did not occupy the place of Re or
Correferendary.' This article was afterwards repeated in the
rules for the Aulic council of Ferdinand I II., without any ad-
dition.

" The question, however, still remained, how this could be
accomplished, as all transactions of the Aulic council were
done in full council ; and it was impracticable, therefore, to
choose other members of the council for the revision of a
cause, who were not present when judgment was given on the
first trial? The actual practice at present, when a party has
recourse to a revision, is to appoint a new Re and Corre-
ferendary * ; a circumstance which is certainly of the more
importance, as in general a great deal depends upon those
officers.

" This is certainly attended with one advantage, in com-
parison with the revision of the imperial chamber, that the
visitation of the Aulic council does not remain in suspense, as
that of the chamber has done foiMwo hundred years, but may
be accomplished with very little loss of time. But this, again,
is by no means such a thorough revision as that of the chamber :

* These are the officers appointed to make extracts from the papers
relating to the causes taken cognisance of by this tribunal; from which
extracts the court forms its judgment.
VOL. III. Q

226 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

there the cause comes into quite different hands; whilst here the
decision of the question, Whether the former sentence was
right or wrong ? depends upon those very suffrages which con-
tributed to its being pronounced at first In other respects,
the rules prescribed by the laws of the empire for the imperial
chamber, concerning law terms, forms, and what was other-
wise requisite for a revision, were applied, where it was at all
practicable, to the Aulic council.

" Among other things, parties engaged in lawsuits must
deposit Succumbensgeld, as it is called, that is, a certain sum,
•which the Aulic council, fix according to the state of the case,
at several hundred or thousand dollars, to be previously de-
posited, within a certain time, by the party demanding a re-
vision ; but upon condition of its being returned in case their
complaints should be found to be well grounded, and the
former sentence revoked.

" If, on the contrary, notwithstanding the revision, the
former sentence is confirmed, this money is forfeited. In the
imperial chamber, this money is disposed of at the visitation ;
but neither the visitors nor the assessors of the court derive any
advantage from it whatever. But in the Aulic council, cases
frequently occur, where certain perquisites, such as Laude-
mialgeld, or fees paid at the investiture of a fief conferred upon
collateral relations, or a new grant from the emperor, have
been divided among all the members of the Aulic council, and
constitute a part of their salaries. In the same manner, the
Aulic council divide among themselves all the dues for re-
vision, as soon as the case is rejected, and the former sentence
confirmed. " *

The general character of this treaty of Westphalia
is not inaccurately, though too briefly, described by a
modern historian.

" The catholics undoubtedly derived advantages from the
restoration of that ecclesiastical property which had been con-
fiscated before 1624, and from the uncontroverted establish-
ment of the ecclesiastical reservation. Their pride was also
gratified by the preference given to the catholic as the domi-
nant religion, by the reference continually made to some
future reunion of the church ; and by the terms in which the
concessions were granted to the protestants, not as matters of
justice and right, but of toleration and favour. Yet, although
none lost any portion of their hereditary possessions, the weight
of their body and the power of the church, which formed the

* Putter, Historical Development, voL ii.

PEACE OP WESTPHALIA. 227

bond of their union, were greatly diminished by the extensive
secularisation of the ecclesiastical property, most of which was
transferred to protestants.

" On the contrary, the protestants lost little advantage by the
arrangement to the ecclesiastical reservation, which they had
power or unanimity to set aside, and which had involved them
in continual disputes with the catholics. They saw their own,
religion secured from the consequences of apostacy, by an in-
superable barrier ; themselves admitted to an equal share of
influence in the tribunals of justice and the diet, and by uniting
in a body, they possessed a legal expedient to deprive their anta-
gonists of the advantage derived from superior numbers. The
inclusion of the Calvinists in the peace diminished that fatal
jealousy which had so long reigned between the two sects ; and,
by their consequent union into a compact body, removed that
weakness and discordance which had often exposed them to
the aggressions of the catholics. From this time the pro-
testants, though differing in religious principles, were, as a
political body, actuated by the same views and guided by the
same interests ; and the heads of the electoral house of Saxony,
unanimously chosen their chiefs, instead of fomenting their
disputes, were the champions of their cause and the supporters
of their interests, though they afterwards became members of
the catholic body.

" By this treaty, France was enabled to secure passages
into Germany and Italy ; to avail herself of those regulations
which rendered the empire an aristocracy, by detaching the
minor states from their chief, and to form on every occasion a
powerful party against the emperor or the house of Austria.
Under the pretext of the joint guaranty, to which she was en-
titled by this treaty, she found a never-failing excuse for
interfering in the affairs of the empire ; she assumed the pro-
tection of the weaker states, by affecting to support their li-
berties ; and seized continual opportunities of increasing that
influence which was already too predominant, and afterwards
became fatal to Germany.

" The advantages acquired by Sweden were scarcely less
important than those of France. Though, by local position,
apparently excluded from any share of influence among the
civilised states of Europe, she rose to a height of fame far be-
yond her physical strength or extent of territority, obtained a
footing in Germany, which gave her the command of two of
its principal rivers, the Elbe and the Oder ; and acquired a
degree of influence, which enabled her frequently to turn the
scale in favour either of France or Austria.

As emperor, Ferdinand saw himself stripped of a great part
Q 2

228 HISTORV OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

of that authority which he derived from prerogative or pre-
scription ; reduced to admit to a share of sovereign power and
dignity, the states whom preceding emperors had treated as
vassals ; and, as head of the house of Austria, he lost, with the
important territory of Alsace, his footing beyond the Rhine.

" By these restrictions and dismemberments he was de-
prived of that preponderance in Europe, which his family by
its own weight had hitherto maintained over France.

" To the empire, as a great political body, this peace can ap-
pear scarcely in any other light than as a fatal blow to its strength
and influence. The different states were, indeed, gratified
with an appearance of independence, but purchased this
shadow of ^sovereignty by foregoing the advantages derived
from concord and union. The right which they acquired of
concluding alliances with other states often rendered them the
mere instruments of intrigue, in the hands of foreign powers ;
and France in particular, by the assistance of the Germans
themselves, erected and extended the ascendancy which she had
gained by breaking down the barrier of the empire. To a few
of the greater states the peace of Westphalia became the
foundation of independence ; but to the smaller it was the
ultimate cause of weakness and degradation, and led to the
subjugation of most of the imperial towns, once the chief
seats of German wealth, prosperity, and commerce."*

1648. Had any other thing been determined with equal
minuteness by this celebrated treaty, it would have been
a real boon to Germany. But, unfortunately for her
prospects, some measures of scarcely inferior importance
were proposed, only to be deferred to a future diet ; and
of these, we need scarcely observe, few were subsequenlty
considered at all. A permanent capitulation, indeed, to
serve as a perpetual engagement on the part of the
sovereign, at his election, towards the states, was drawn
up, and, after several evasions, sanctioned in somewhat
more than half a century after this peace. It was,
however, subject to addition or alteration, according to
future circumstances ; but not, as had hitherto prevailed,
at the mere pleasure of the electors, unless the articles
introduced concerned themselves alone : where general
affairs were involved, the concurrence of the states was
necessary. Thus, also, in regard to the election of a

* Cose, House of Austria, TO!. L p. 06L

PEACE OF WESTPHALIA. 229

king of the Romans, was that election to be made hy
the seven princes who had hitherto held the privilege?
or was the privilege to be shared with the states ?
France and Sweden, convinced how easily a living
emperor could prevail on a small number to elect a
son or brother, and anxious to remove the crown from
the house of Austria, warmly recommended the latter
alternative, and at the same time suggested a declara-
tion, that, except on extraordinary emergencies, no king
of the Romans should be elected during the life of the
reigning emperor. But the privileged seven, as may be
naturally imagined, were averse to the change, though
it was undoubtedly a return to the most ancient system ;
and it was dexterously evaded under the plea of defer-
ring it to the next diet. It was subsequently proposed
by the states, who were no less eager for its adoption ;
but all that could ever be obtained, was a declaration, in
the diet of 1711, that on certain occasions only should
a king of the Romans be elected during the life of the
reigning emperor. Other momentous affairs had yet
to be considered ; hence the seeds of discontent which
were so rapidly germinating in certain districts of the
empire, and which were likely sometime to dissever the
bonds of the confederation. The relative proportions of
taxation, not only in regard to each state, but to the
different social classes of each, was one. Another was
the regulation of the diets of deputation, so as to fix on
a perfect basis of equality the number of deputies
sent by protestant and Roman catholic states. This
equality, as a fundamental principle, was indeed ac-
knowledged by the peace, but no definite measures were
adopted to procure it. Those diets of deputation consisted,
as we have before shown, of the seven electors, and certain
number of princes, counts, prelates, and imperial deputies
returned by the states. In 1654, it was proposed, that,
as there were four catholic and only three protestant
electors, one of the latter should in every second diet
have two votes instead of one j and care was taken that
the princes, counts, and imperial cities on both sides
o 3

230 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

should be equal. But this suggestion was not fully
carried into effect. Equally unfortunate were the attempts
to regulate the public and private parts of the empire ;
so that the interests of the one continued to clash with
those of the other down to our own times.*

1648 To resume our historical summary. — Most of the re-
*° gulations which concerned the Roman catholic church,
IJ ' the ecclesiastical judicature, and, above all, the secular-
isation of the bishoprics, were loudly condemned by the
papal legate; and, in 1651, finally annulled by In-
nocent X. But his thunders had ceased to terrify even
those who remained in the ancient communion, and not
a sword was drawn to support him. The remainder
of Ferdinand's reign passed in tranquillity ; nor does it
contain any striking event except such as we have
anticipated in the preceding pages. He caused his son
to be elected king of the Romans, under the title of Fer-
dinand IV. ; but the young prince, already king of
Bohemia and Hungary, preceded him to the tomb, and
left the question of the succession to be decided by a
diet. — Ferdinand III. died in 1657, leaving behind
him a character for wisdom and moderation, unequalled
perhaps by any monarch of his age.f

1657 LEOPOLD I. The interregnum, and, indeed, the cen-
to tury which followed the death of Ferdinand, showed
the alarming preponderance of the influence gained by
France in the affairs of the empire, and the consequent
criminality of the princes who had first invoked the
assistance of that power. Her recent victories, her
character as joint guarantee of the treaty of West-
phalia, and the contiguity of her possessions to the states
of the empire, encouraged her ministers to demand the
imperial crown for the youthful Louis XIV. Still
more extraordinary is the fact that four of the electors
were gained, by that monarch's gold, to espouse his

* Founded on the histories of the treaty of Westphalia,
f Authorities: — Struvius; Pfeffel; Schmidt ; Barre; Coxe ; Puffcn-
dorfj Geraldo.

LEOPOLD I. 231

views ; for who could have anticipated that there would
be one single voice raised in behalf of a power which
had exhibited an ambition so perfidious and grasping ;
which had inflicted so fatal a blow on the confederation ;
which watched the progress of events, in the hope of
rendering the country as dependent on France as it had
been in the time of Charlemagne? Fortunately for
Germany and for Europe, the electors of Treves, Bran-
denburg, and Saxony were too patriotic to sanction this
infatuated proposal ; they threatened to elect a native
prince of their own authority, — -a. menace which caused
the rest to co-operate with them ; so that, after some
fruitless negotiations, Leopold, son of the late emperor,
king of Bohemia and of Hungary, was raised to the vacant
dignity. — His reign was one of great humiliation to
his house and to the empire. Without talents for
government, without generosity, feeble, bigoted, and
pusillanimous, he was little qualified to augment the
glory of the country ; though, to do him justice, its
prosperity was an object which he endeavoured, however
ineffectually, to promote. Throughout his long reign_,
he had the mortification to witness, on the part of
Louis XIV., a series of the most unprovoked, wanton,
and unprincipled usurpations ever recorded in history.
The infamy of the French councils at this period is so
extraordinary, that, unless it were apparent even from
the national writers, it would be utterly incredible. As
many volumes, however, would barely suffice to expose
it in its proper colours, and as many hundreds have
actually been written — not by the historians of Ger-
many only, but of France and England — we will not
enter into a subject so universal. We shall only
observe, that, aided by some alliances which his money
enabled him to procure in the very heart of the em-
pire, Louis was a terrific scourge to it ; that his troops
often transformed into a perfect desert the regions
bordering on the Rhine; that, to annoy his rival the
more, he prevailed on the Turks to penetrate to the
Q 4

232 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

very walls of Vienna: that a sense of the common
danger roused Holland, the empire, Denmark, England,
and even Sweden, to combine against the common enemy
of Europe; that the treaties of Nimeguen in 1679., and
of Ryswick in l697» were but truces, made on the part of
France only to give time; that, though splendid successes
accompanied for some years the arms of France, victory
at length forsook them for those of her enemies ; that in
the war of the Spanish succession, though Philip V.*
was supported on the throne by the arms of France and
Spain, in the Low Countries the French were hum-
bled, especially at the glorious battle of Blenheim ; and
that when Leopold died, in 1 705, all Europe, Italy, Spain,
and the elector of Bavaria excepted — the last perversely
adhering to the most faithless and dangerous enemy
Germany ever had — were animated with a new spirit
against France. One of Leopold's last acts was to con-
fer, by letters patent, the dignity of prince of the
empire on the duke of Marlborough. France had now
lost all her conquests on the right and some on the
left back of the Rhine ; and Sweden, which was long
her faithful ally, became, under Charles XII., her
enemy. During the minority of Charles, this kingdom,
as the penalty of her alliance with the enemy of Ger-
many, had lost most of her possessions in the northern
provinces of the empire, — possessions which were
divided between Denmark, Saxony, and Russia. On
both extremities, therefore, Leopold, whose talents were
so moderate, gained for the empire. Nor were his arms
less successful in general against the Turks, with whom
his generals in Hungary, and sometimes in Austria,
contended the greater part of his reign. But the glory
of humbling them is not due to them or to the [Ger-
mans, so much as to the Poles, under the immortal
Sobieski. The memorable campaign of 1683, when
the Polish hero, in conjunction with the im-
perial generals, faced the grand vizir Kara Mustapha

* See History of Spain and Portugal, vol. v., reign of Philip V.

LEOPOLD I. 233

to raise the seige of Vienna, and rolled back the
invading tide to the frontiers of the Ottoman empire,
is well known to every general reader. Thus,
though Leopold had no talents for war, though he was
never present at a battle, his arms were victorious. This
result, however, must not be ascribed to any merit of his:
it arose from the general feeling of Europe against one
of the most unprincipled sovereigns that ever cursed a
country, and from the alliances offensive and defensive
which that feeling inevitably produced. Probably his
very want of merit, — we mean public merit, for in
private life he was estimable, — served his cause better
than the most splendid talents could have done ; since it
tended to diminish the dread which Europe had long
entertained of his aspiring family, and which was now
transferred to his more dangerous rival, the king of
France. — Internally, the reign of Leopold affords some
interesting particulars. — 1. Not the least is the establish-
ment of a ninth electoral dignity in favour of Ernest
Augustus, duke of Brunswick Lunenburg, who then
became (1692) the first elector of Hanover. This was
the act of Leopold, in return for important aid in money
and troops from two princes of that house ; but it could
not be effected without the concurrence of the electoral
body, who long resisted it. Constitutionally, as settled
by the treaty of Westphalia, no such 'creation could be
made without the same concurrence on the part of the
college of princes ; but their clamours were disregarded
when the consent of the electors was secured. As the
duke was a protestant, the catholics complained with
bitterness of the equality given to the votes of the rival
church. Here the reader may perhaps enquire how this
equality could be, since the three ecclesiastical electors,
Mentz, Cologne, and Treves, were of necessity catholics,
and Bohemia and Bavaria were the same. It must,
however, be considered that, though Bohemia always
voted at the election of a king of the Romans, she had
no electoral suffrage on other occasions ; she had no
seat in the electoral college, — a privilege which she

234 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

appears to have lost by degrees, — through neglect of
attending the diet, and probably through a disinclination
to be any further connected with Germany than was
unavoidable. Indeed, as she bore no part of the
public burdens so far as the empire was concerned, it
is difficult to see how she should have the same privilege
of financial legislation as the rest, — a consideration
which would not apply under the feudal system, when
few direct contributions were raised, and when personal
service in the field was nearly all that was demanded.
The Germans, naturally averse to the Bohemians, who
had always pursued interests separate from those of
the confederation, resisted the efforts of Ferdinand I.,
and of his immediate successors, for the full participation
of Bohemia in all the electoral privileges. But when
the catholics perceived that the votes of Mentz, Cologne,
Treves, and Bavaria were followed by those of Saxony,
Brandenburg, the palatinate, and the new electorate,
they no longer resisted the admission of Bohemia. The
protestant princes might, indeed, oppose it; but Leopold
knew so well how to combine his projects with their
personal or family interests, that he ultimately suc-
ceeded in this, as in other designs, where at one time
success appeared hopeless. Seeing that they had still a
preponderance of suffrage, the catholic electors no longer
opposed with vigour the creation .of a ninth electorate ;
especially as there was an understanding, that if either
the palatine or the Bavarian house became extinct, the
electoral dignity should be extinguished with it. It
must, however, be added, that though resistance to the
admission of Bohemia, and the creation of a ninth elec-
torate, was withdrawn, neither was recognised by the
diet until the following reign. Another circumstance
reconciled them to the admission of the new elector.
In 1688, a catholic prince, Philip Wilhelm, count pala-
tine of Neuburg, succeeded a protestant in the palatine
electorate; and in 1698, Frederic Augustus, elector of
Saxony, exchanged his faith for the crown of Poland.
Hence the number of catholic and protestant electors

LEOPOLD I.

was now in the proportion of seven to two. On this
subject, however, some explanation is necessary. As
the protestants were not likely to witness, with patience,
the transfer of their suffrages to their enemies ; and as
in this case a general war would have been inevitable ;
it was agreed that, though the sovereign of the state
was personally a catholic, the state itself should still be
regarded as protestant, and exercised a protestant suf-
frage. Thus, when the elector of Saxony ascended the
throne of Poland, he was constrained to commit the
affairs of religion in that province to a board of protest-
ant 'ecclesiastics, and to allow a protestant ambassador to
represent him at the diets of the empire. It might,
indeed, be expected, that where the sovereign was a
catholic, his religious feelings must inevitably bias his
vote ; but this anticipation was rendered groundless by
an innovation to which we shall speedily allude, — the
personal absence of the electors from the diet, and their
representation by ambassadors. In the Palatinate, how-
ever, the reformed religion was irretrievably ruined.
Louis, the great protector of the protestants in Ger-
many, not content with banishing them from France,
resolved to extirpate them in the Palatinate. He every
where persecuted them, laid their churches in ashes, and
transferred them to the catholics ; and when, at the
treaty of Ryswick, in 1685, the protestants naturally
urged the restitution of their worship, in conformity
with a fundamental law recognised in that of West-
phalia, their demand was openly resisted by France.
Louis insisted that the state of religion in that province
should remain just as he had established it. — Reverting,
however, to the subject more immediately before us,
the number of electors could not long remain un-
changed. In the treaty of Westphalia, the magic
seven had lost its charm ; its power was now still
further diminished by another addition ; and the pre-
cedent was sure to be followed in a country where the
dignity was accompanied by such great advantages, and
where, as the condition of procuring it, the sovereign

236 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

could secure whatever aid he demanded from the
most ambitious of his princes. — 2. This election of
a brother prince gave umbrage to the elector of Branden-
burg, who, in virtue of the Westphalian treaty, had
succeeded to the duchy of Prussia, and who felt that he
was at once as powerful and as ambitious as Frederic
Augustus. In this feeling, he began to negotiate with
Leopold for the royal dignity also. At any other time,
his pretensions would have been treated with ridicule ;
but since he could bring a considerable force into the field,
since the war of the Spanish succession was about to com-
mence, since his aid was consequently an object of much
importance to the emperor and the allies, nothing could
be denied him; especially as, in the event of such a
de'nial, he might league himself with Louis of France,
who would readily procure the gratification of his
ambition. Hence Leopold, Holland, and England
acknowledged him. Again, Sweden, under its youthful
monarch Charles XII., was preparing (1700) to enter
the lists with Denmark, Poland, and Russia, which had
magnanimously agreed to dismember her territories. It
was the interest of both parties to manage a prince so
near and so powerful as the elector of Brandenburg and
the duke of Prussia ; and he was equally recognised by
the four crowns. France and Spain, indeed, refused to
regard as a brother king, one who was so likely to
become an active enemy ; and the pope, who modestly
thought that the holy see alone had the power of creat-
ing kings, and who had no wish/ to see another diadem
on the brow of a heretic, strengthened the opposition.
But opposition from powers so distant and feeble as
two of them was ridiculed by Frederic, who, in 1701,
placed the crown on his own head as king of Prussia. —
3. But some changes in the political state of Germany
furnish a more interesting subject of contemplation.
The treaty of Westphalia recognised the right which, in
fact, had always existed, — that of each state making
separate alliances with foreign states or with each other,
without the concurrence of a diet, even of deputation,

LEOPOLD I. 237

without so much as consulting any elector or prince,
throughout the empire. Thus, in 1658, several spiritual
and temporal and temporal princes formed the Rhenish
alliance, the object of which was to prevent the war
from spreading in Germany. Thus also, in l66l,
the bishop of Munstej, when that city refused to obey,
entered into a treaty with Austria and France, each of
which furnished him with troops, and by their aid he
reduced the place to perfect subjection. And it was a
similar alliance between Bavaria and France, — an
alliance cemented by a marriage, — in which that elector
was opposed to the greater part of the empire and its
head, that protracted the destructive wars of the period,
and occassioned the dismemberment of the country.
Nothing could be more injurious than this privilege,
since it sanctioned civil warfare, and enabled any prince,
whom it was the interest of foreigners to gain, to consult
his own aggrandisement at the expense of the confeder-
ation. So eager was each state to secure its absolute
independence, that not a thought was wasted on the
general weal : yet that independence would assuredly
have been great enough, had each been compelled to
procure, for its separate treaties, the confirmation of
the diet. From this peace of Westphalia may be dated
the rapid decline of the empire as a confederate body.
Since then she has been unable to withstand any of the
great European powers : France and Russia—nay, even
her own children, Prussia and Austria — have swayed her
destinies. — Again, the establishment of la. permanent
diet, attended, not by the electors in person, but by
their representatives, is one of the most striking pecu-
liarities of Leopold's reign.

" The assembly of deputations which met at Frankfort to-
wards the conclusion of the last reign, continued its session
after Ferdinand's death ; but it effected nothing of conse-
quence. A new war with the Turks, in which Leopold saw
himself involved, rendered it necessary for him to convoke a
general diet at Ratisbon, instead of the assembly of depu-
tations. It certainly was not his intention, by this measure to
establish a perpetual general diet ; he convoked it with the hope

238 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC ETKPIRK.

of procuring a speedy and adequate assistance against the
Turks ; and intended that the session should in a few months
be again prorogued : but the princes, who were not pleased to
see the hopes afforded them by the peace of Westphalia, of a
perpetual capitulation at the election of an emperor and king
of the Romans, so little accomplished, zealously insisted that it
should come into discussion, either before, or at the same time
with, their deliberations respecting the aid against the Turks.
They had even formed a particular union among themselves, in
support of their prerogatives, on the 20th of April, 1662, called
the Princely, in imitation of the Electoral Union ; and so far ac-
complished their purpose, that immediately after the aid re-
quired by the emperor against the Turks was granted, they
began to draw up a perpetual capitulation. The plan was
finished in a few weeks ; but a new dispute arose now con-
cerning the introduction and conclusion, as the electors insisted
upon reserving their right of inserting some additions of their
own. Besides this, so many new and important objects soon
afterwards occurred in the course of the deliberations, that the
diet was unusually prolonged, and at last rendered perpetual,
as it exists at present, and distinguishes the Germanic con-
stitution as the only one of its kind — not only for a certain
length of time, as was formerly, and as diets are generally held
in other countries, where there are national states ; but the
diet of the Germanic empire was established by this event for
ever.

" The diet acquired by this circumstance an entirely dif-
ferent form. So long as it was only of short duration, it was
always expected that the emperor, as well as the electors,
princes, counts, and prelates, if not all, yet the greatest part of
them, should attend in person ; as in other nations, where there
are states, those who enjoy a seat and voice at the diets, or in
parliament, are expected to exercise their privilege personally.
It is true, it had long been customary at the diets of Germany,
for the states to deliver their votes occasionally by means of
plenipotentiaries ; but it was then considered only as an ex-
ception, whereas it was now established as a general rule, that
all the states should only send their plenipotentiaries, and
never appear themselves ; and if they were able to pass a decree
without further question, according to their own resolutions,
it naturally followed that an assembly consisting solely of
plenipotentiaries could only deliver their votes as their prin-
cipals dictated, and that it was necessary, therefore, previously
to submit the subject of debate to their opinion and receive in-
structions.

" The question very naturally arose, What sort of plenipo-

LEOPOLD I. 239

tentiaries those were, which new composed the diet ? In
former times, they had scarcely any determinate name : some-
times they were called counsellors, and sometimes deputies,
plenipotentiaries, agents, messengers, &c. Every plenipo-
tentiary from a state to the diet, was considered as an am-
bassador, and treated upon that footing.

" The whole diet, therefore, imperceptibly acquired the
form of a congress; consisting solely of ministers; similar in a
great degree to a congress where several powers send their en-
voys to treat of peace. In other respects, it may be compared
to a congress held in the name of several states in perpetual
alliance with each other, as in Switzerland, the United Pro-
vinces, and as somewhat of a similar nature exists at present
in North America ; but with this difference , — that in Ger-
many, the assembly is held under the authority of one common
supreme head, and that the members do not appear merely as
deputies, or representatives invested with full power by their
principals, which is only the case with the imperial cities ; but
so that every member of the two superior colleges of the
empire is himself an actual sovereign of a state, who permits
his minister to deliver his vote in his name and only according
to his prescription."*

In the diet thus favourably established, the emperor
was represented by two persons, a commissary and his
assistant ; the former always a prince of the empire,
the latter an inferior noble or lawyer. The principal
commissary had the precedence of all the other envoys,
— for the princes, now so much increased in number,
had their envoys as well as the electors, — sat under a
commissary ; and, in fact, had the direction of the
assembly, f

Before we quit the reign of Leopold, we must again 1G57
request the reader's attention to the irreparable injury to
which the reformed religion received from its voluntary 1<0j'
connection with France. We have adverted to the in-
tolerant spirit displayed by the royal " ally of the pro-

* Putter, Historical Devetopement, vol. ii. p. 277.

f Struvius, Corpus Historic, p. 1337— HSO. Pfeffel, Abrege Chrono-
logique, torn. ii. (sub annis). Schmidt, Histoire Giralilo, Istoria di Leo-
poldp I. (ad annum 1670). Wagner, Hi'storia Leopold! Cassaris August!,
passim. Dumont, Corps Diplomatique, torn. vii. (variis instruments*).
Barr^, Annales de PEmpire (sub annis). Salvandez, Histoire de Jean
Sobieski, Roi de Pologne, torn. ii. Coxe, House of Austria (Reign of
Leopold I.). And, in fact, all the general histories of Europe.

24O HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

testants" in the Palatinate; but we have not done
justice to the subject.

" The accounts given by historians of the conflagrations and
unheard-of cruelties of the French army under the command
of the mare'chal De Duras, in the countries contiguous to the
Rhine and Neckar, are dreadful beyond description : the re-
monstrances and earnest entreaties of the margrave of Baden
were fruitless ; his capital, and many other towns and villages,
were totally destroyed. The beautiful country of the elector
palatine was in a still more deplorable condition. The army,
not satisfied with levying the most exorbitant contributions,
and plundering the towns they had taken, even opened and
pillaged the tombs, and threw about the bones of the illustri-
ous dead ; particularly at Spires, where they destroyed the
superb monuments of eight emperors and three empresses.

" They stripped the very altars of the village churches; and
the distressed inhabitants, after giving up their all to the in-
satiate conquerors, were barbarously driven naked from their
dwellings ; and their wives and virgin daughters violently
sacrificed, in the presence of their husbands and their parents,
to wanton and unbounded lust. The French minister, the
marquis de Louvois, at last ordered, in the name of his Most
Christian Majesty, the whole country — a district of more than
thirty English miles in length — to be destroyed by fire. The
populous cities of Heidelberg, Manheim, Frankenthal, Spires,
Oppenheim, Creutzenach, Alzey, Ingelheim, Bacharach, Sinz-
heim, Bretten, and many others, were consumed to ashes. The
costly palaces of the palatine electors, which had been the work
of ages, and other magnificent public buildings, were now a
heap of ruins, and scarcely one stone left upon another. A
circumstance that added to the misery of the unfortunate fugi-
tives, was, that this horrid scene was perpetrated in the midst
of a severe winter, when the ground was covered with snow.
The infirm, the aged, and helpless infants, who were unable
to escape, were either sacrificed with their paternal dwellings
to the flames, or exposed to the most inclement weather, and
perished by the frost : many were shot at and maimed for the
amusement of the brutal soldiers, and left bleeding in the
woods. In the neighbourhood of Heidelberg, a woman was
ripped up with a bayonet, the untimely fruit torn from her
•womb, and her husband murdered by her side. That beau-
tiful city seemed destined to suffer more than any of the others.
When it was taken, in 1688, the army set no bounds to their
cruelty ; though the citizens capitulated, and the dauphin
himself promised them security ; yet, when the enemies quitted

LEOPOLD I. 241

it, on the approach of the imperial army, they broke their
treaty, and laid the town in ashes. The French generals De
Tesse and Rouville were so moved at the sight of the raging
flames, and tears of the distressed inhabitants, that they at
last, suffered many to rescue their effects ; but when the bur-
gomaster fell upon his knees, and entreated them to save the
castle, De Tesse uttered a deep sigh, and told him, ' that it
grieved him to be 'a spectator of their ruin, but that it was
the king's orders — they were absolute, and must be obeyed. '
In the year 1 693, the scene was still more dreadful than before.
The scattered inhabitants had scarcely restored their native
town to a tolerable state of defence, before they were again
attacked by a powerful army of the enemy : the garrison was
not strong, but brave ; and might have held out much longer,
but for the cowardice of their dastardly commander, who pro-
vided for the safety of his own person at the expense of the
devoted city. The French entered in triumph. The ladies
and citizens' wives solicited the general to spare their honour ;
he promised, and ordered them to retire to one of the remain-
ing churches, where, contrary to his engagement, they were
ravished by the brutal troops : the church was then set fire to ;
and the only place of refuge, which heathens would have held
as sacred, was consumed to ashes. The rest of the inhabitants,
who amounted to 15,000 in number, were stripped of all they
had, and obliged to fly their paternal walls comfortless and
naked. When the most Christian king of France heard of
the city of Heidelberg being again taken, he ordered the Te
Deum to be sung in the churches at Paris, and a coin to be
struck, which represented the town in flames, with the inscrip-
tion ' Rex dixit, et factum est.' The commanding officer, De
Heydersberg, however, was punished according to his deserts.
As soon as he arrived at the camp of Heilbron, he was imme-
diately arrested, and a court martial held upon his conduct,
which condemned him to the following punishment : — Being
a knight of the Teutonic order, he was taken by the grand
master to the Teutonic house at Heilbron, and there equipped
in his full habits, with all the ornaments of chivalry. He was
then addressed in the character of knight ; his crimes and
breach of honour were laid before him, and he was declared
an unworthy member of that illustrious society, and that he
had disgraced and forfeited his cross ; his robes were then torn
with violence from his shoulders, and the riband from his
neck ; he was struck twice across the face with the cross ; and
at last the youngest knight led him to the door of the hall,
and kicked him out ; a guard waited to receive him, and the
disgraced knight was conducted immediately to prison. On
VOL. in. R

242 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

the third day he was taken, in the common executioner's cart,
to the camp, and carried through the lines, from one wing to
the other of the whole allied army, which was expressly drawn
out for the purpose : he was then brought before his own regi-
ment, where he descended from the cart to hear his sentence
publicly pronounced ; which was, that all his estates should be
confiscated, and his head severed from his body by the sword
of the common executioner. He begged for a long time that
he might be shot, instead of being beheaded, which was the
death of the vilest malefactor; but his entreaties could not
prevail ; till at last, just as the executioner was prepared to
perform his office, an order came to have his sentence changed
to one still more disgraceful. The executioner then hung his
sword by his side, but took it back immediately, broke it in
pieces before his face, and after he had struck him three times
on the head with the hilt, threw it at his feet : after which be
was banished for ever from the territories of Austria, and the
circles of Swabia, Franconia, and the Upper Rhine. He was
then obliged to ascend his cart again, and was carried over to
Necker, where the executioner unbound him ; and in this miser-
able condition set him again at liberty, poor, and branded with
infamy." *

The result has been the almost total ruin of the re-
formed religion in these fine provinces. The son of
Philip Wilhelm, who succeeded to the Palatinate in
1690, was even more intolerant than his father. Every
possible favour was shown to the catholic, while simple
justice was denied to the protestant, who was held in
almost the same estimation as the Jew ; to whom the
honourable offices of the state and magistracy were in-
accessible, and who was ground to the earth by harass-
ing and vexatious regulations. The consequent emi-
gration of many thousands to other parts of Germany,
and of a still greater number to the United States of
America, did not add much to the prosperity of the re-
formation in this part of Germany. Such is a forcible
illustration of the benefits which that reformation de-
rived from its friendly league with Catholic France;
from its rebellion against the lawful head of the empire ;
from that spirit of religious rancour, of which no true

* Putter, Historical Development, vol. ii. p. 326. n. ,

JOSEPH i. 243

Calvinist even — and the Palatinate was atone time peo-
pled about wholly by Calvinists — was ever destitute !*
JOSEPH I., son of Leopold, who had been declared
hereditary king of Hungary, and in 1690 had been to
elected king of the Romans, necessarily succeeded to the
imperial crown. His reign was short, but fruitful in
great events — events, however, which are well known
to every reader. — 1. His foreign wars were brilliantly
successful. In the Low Countries, the victories of
his general Eugene, and of the greater Marlborough,
brought France to a state of degradation which she
had never experienced since the conquering days of
Creci, Poitiers, and Agincourt. Louis was so far
humbled, that, besides relinquishing all his former
conquests, he proposed, as a condition of peace, even to
abandon his nephew Philip V., whom he had placed on
the troubled throne of Spain, and to acknowledge the
archduke Charles, brother of the emperor, who was then
fighting for the Spanish crown in Catalonia t, asking of
Spain and the Indies. Unfortunately for the peace of
Europe, the allies, infatuated by excess, refused the
conditions, and the war was continued. In the Nether-
lands, it was still decisive for the allies. In Italy, it
was equally so — Naples having submitted to the arch-
duke, his brother. In Spain, where Joseph died in
1711, — a death prematurely occurred by the small-pox,
he had the satisfaction to learn that, after various alter-
ations, Philip was expelled from the capital, and his
brother acknowledged by nearly all the great cities of
the kingdom. — 2. Internally, the reign of this em-
peror is remarkable for the suppression of the Bavarian
electorate, in punishment of the tenacity with which the
late elector had clung to the alliance of France ; and for
the transfer of the dignity to the count palatine. Hence,
as, in accordance with a prior regulation, the eighth

* The histories of Leopold's reign.

f For the interminable war of the Spanish succession — a subject k
which we can scarcely so much as allude — the reader is referred to the
History of Spain and "Portugal, vol. v.

B 2

244 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

electorate, which had been created for the count palatine,
was suppressed, the electoral college had one member
less. The general happiness of this emperor was, in-
deed, embittered by a rebellion in Hungary, — an event
of perpetual recurrence, — but here, too, he triumphed.
He was, indeed, a great prince — one of the greatest
that have ever adorned a house more fertile than any
other in wise and good men. Like his immediate pre-
decessor, he was so learned — an advantage for which he
and they were indebted to the Jesuits — that he might
have passed for a lawyer or an ecclesiastic : like them,
he was indefatigable in discharging the duties of his sta-
tion ; like them, he was charitable, humane, accessible,
patriotic : but, unlike most of them, — and here is his
proudest distinction, — though attached to the Roman
catholic faith, he was no bigot, no persecutor ; in prin-
cipal and practice alike he was tolerant. His chief
defect was lubricity in regard to women.*

1711 CHARLES VI. — By the death of Joseph, the archduke
to Charles, who was striving for the Spanish crown, as the

1740. iasj. maie heir of the house of Hapsburg, was the only
candidate for the imperial throne. Forsaking the scene
of his battles, Charles hastened from Barcelona to seize
the more brilliant prize then offered him by his bro-
ther's decease, yet without abandoning any of his claims
to Spain and the Indies. But the public mind of
Europe was now changed. If the war with France had
been undertaken chiefly from a dread lest the crown of
that country and of Spain might be placed on the brow
of a Bourbon, the objection was even stronger against
the union of the Spanish and of the imperial crowns,
with those of Hungary and of Bohemia, on the brow of
an Austrian. From this moment it was evidently the
object of the allies to make what terms they could with
Louis XIV. — to acknowledge Philip V., provided se-
curity were given that the two thrones were never filled

* Struvius, Corpus Historic, p. 1451, &c. Pfeffel, Abrrg.5 Chrono-
logique, torn. ii. (sub annis). Schmidt, Continuation, lib. x. Coxe, House
ol Austria, chap. 7'.'— 7". With the general histories of Europe.

CHARLES VI. 245

by the same prince, and provided the boundaries of the
French monarchy on the Belgian and Germanic frontier
were drawn within narrower limits. The fall of the
whigs in England, and the accession of the tories to
power, strengthened the desire ; and it was evident, that
if England withdrew from the confederacy, the war
woul<J soon be at an end. Hence, negotiations were
opened ; Philip, thereigningmonarch of Spain, renounced
the throne of France; and after some manoauvring,
peace was concluded at Utrecht, between all the Euro-
pean poxvers, except France and the empire, on the
31st of March, 1713. As the emperor was resolved
to continue the war, the conditions may briefly be stated.
After providing against the possibility of the two Bour-
bon crowns ever being united, the conquests made from
the duke of Savoy were restored to him : the elector of
Brandenburg was recognised as king of Prussia ; and
though he was compelled to surrender the principality
of Orange, and the lordship of Chalons, which he had
received from the house of Orange, as the condition of
his joining the grand alliance, he was amply compen-
sated by the Spanish Guelderland, with the sovereignty
of Neufchatel. The Rhine — a condition which, after
the splendid victories of Marlborough, nobody would
have expected — was fixed as the boundary of the
French and German possessions : Milan and Naples
were ceded to the house of Austria : the Spanish
Netherlands were declared subject to the same family ;
though the exiled elector of Bavaria was allowed to re-
tain, provisionally, the places which, with the assistance
of France, he had obtained : a new line of frontier,
from Luxemburg to Mons, was determined between
France and the Low Countries : Anne was acknow-
ledged as queen of England; and the succession to
rest in the house of Hanover. After some desultory
operations, the emperor, feeling that he was unequal to
the weight of the war, concluded peace with France, the
following year, at Baden. The conditions were much
less favourable than he might have commanded at
» 3

246 HISTOKS" OF THE GERMjfNIC EMPIRE.

Utrecht. At the demand of Louis, the elector of Ba-
varia was restored to all his honours and possessions ;
the elector of Cologne, who had also taken part with
France, had the same good fortune ; Landau remained
with this power — Brisac, Friburg, and Kehl only
being restored to the empire. The part, however, as
to the Netherlands, Milan, and Naples, remained in
force ; and the electorate of Hanover was recognised.
With this peace the protestants were justly dissatisfied,
as it did not repeal the obnoxious article enforced by
France in the treaty of Ryswick, — an article which, as
we have before observed, preserved things in the state
to which Louis XIV. had changed them. The catholics,
were, however, determined to hold the advantages they
had gained. Hence a more furious rivalry between the
two, which often threatened the internal peace of the
empire ; but which imperial edicts, and apparent con-
cessions from the elector palatine, as often allayed.
Hence, too, the frequent dissensions in the diet ; and,
whenever the reformed deputies perceived that they
should be outvoted, their right of secession, — Jus eundi
in paries, — a clause wrung by the protestants at the
peace of Westphalia. This right of secession was their
only remedy when they were numerically the weaker ;
since it legally sanctioned their resistance. There was,
however, some dispute as to the meaning of in paries.
Did it involve the right of total secession, and thereby
of arresting the decision of the diet ? or, did it recognise
that of amicable arrangement in other places than
the hall of assembly ? Nothing can better exhibit the
carelessness — perhaps we might say knavery, since
it might purposely be left indefinite — of the Ger-
manic legislators, than the fact that a clause of so much
importance was left uncertain. In itself, it contained
as much evil as good ; since, if it provided the reformers
with a defence whenever their privileges were menaced
by a preponderating force, in the same manner it al-
lowed them to resist even where the subject under con-
sideration was for the manifest good of the empire ; in

CHARLES VI. 24)7

other words, it allowed the minority to counterbalance the
efforts of the majority, and often to arrest the course of
wise legislation. For it must not be forgotten, that,
though this celebrated clause was originally applied
only to cases of religion, it was soon extended by the
protestants to every other case. But, suppose, as was
often, indeed generally, the fact, there should be a di-
vision among the protestants who thus seceded — that
the Evangelical Union were split into two bodies. Should
the affair be decided by the majority of votes ? If this
were allowed here, with what justice could the same
mode of decision be refused to the collective body con-
stituting the diet ? If it were refused, what way re-
mained of enforcing a decision ? Here was a dilemma :
it ended in the adoption of the former alternative,
outrageous as this was to all reason and justice. —
Reverting, however, to the subject more immediately
before us, Charles, though dissatisfied with the bound-
ary traced towards the French, was compelled, in 1755,
to sanction a treaty equally disagreeable in regard to
the limits between the Austrian Netherlands and the
United Provinces. He conceded to them the right of
maintaining garrisons in Namur, Tournay, Menin,
Ypres, Fumes, Comines, Dendermand — at the ex-
pense, too, of these places. Again, if he had been
forced to make peace with France, he had refused to
include Spain, since he would not consent to relin-
quish his claims to the throne of that country. Philip,
in consequence, plundered the island of Sardinia, which
belonged to the duke of Savoy, created, in conformity
with the last treaty, king of Sardinia. In 1718, how-
ever, Charles acknowledged Philip as lawful monarch
of Spain ; the island was restored to Victor Amadeus ;
and don Carlos, a son of Philip, was promised the in-
vestiture of the grand duchy of Tuscany, Parma, and
Placenza — The following years were passed in treaties,
which, if concluded one year, were evaded the next ;
because their repetition renders, it was hoped, greater ob-
ligations ; but monarchs are seldom disposed to regard
B 4

248 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

what it is their present advantage to brealc. Through-
out Europe there was continued distrust, — the natural
result of faithless dealings. Sometimes the contracting
powers openly seceded from the alliance which they had
just formed, and entered into treaty with the state which
they had just agreed to oppose. The position of the
parties continually varied ; and the whole policy of
Europe, which was directed by the meanest consider-
ations, was as fluctuating as it was short-sighted. This,
however, is not a European history ; and we cannot
even advert to the changes which perpetually confused
the political horizon. Sometimes negotiations were
abandoned for open hostilities. New interests perpetually
added to the entanglement of affairs. Thus, the em-
peror and the French king supported the claims of
different candidates — theirs was, as usual, elective — to
the Polish crown : Augustus III. of Saxony being
preferred, and Stanislas Leczinski compelled to flee,
France, in revenge, invaded the empire. In 1738,
France consented that Stanislas should renounce the
Polish crown, in return for the duchies of Lorraine
and Bar, which, on his death, were to be incorporated
with the French monarchy. But there was already a
duke of Lorraine, a faithful ally of the Austrian house,
who, two years before, had married the eldest daughter
of Charles. As he had been driven from that province
by France, he was not averse to receive, by way of com-
pensation, the eventual succession to the grand duchy
of Tuscany. Hence it was necessary, again, to satisfy
don Carlos, who had, in several preceding treaties, been
ensured the same advantage. But, by the aid of Spain,
Carlos had just conquered both Naples and Sicily ; and
in the present treaty of Vienna, as the condition of
resuming Tuscany, he was acknowledged king of the
Two Sicilies. During the two following years, which
were the last of this emperor's reign, he enjoyed peace
with all Europe except the Turks, who had long in-
fested Hungary. With them, too he concluded (1739)
peace, on conditions little honourable to the Austrian

CHARLES VI. 249

arms. He ceded Servia, with the important fortress
of Belgrade ; recognised part of Wallachia as a de-
pendency of the Porte ; and consented that the limits
of Hungary should in future be the Danube and the
Save. This reign was, indeed, an inglorious one. " He
succeeded to his dominions/' says a modern historian,
" in a high state of power and splendour ; and left them
in the lowest degradation and weakness." He was
humbled by almost every power which drew the sword
against him, — a fact illustrating both his want of
talents for war and the in competency of his ministers.
In his internal administration, he is more entitled to
respect. In his Austrian dominions, he opened new
roads and canals, constructed bridges, encouraged com-
merce, improved the laws, and exhibited so much cle-
mency, that he was called the Titus of his age. In the
empire he was not so fortunate — rather from the ob-
stacles he encountered in the execution of his designs, than
from any other cause. But his chief concern, throughout
his reign, was directed to the choice of a successor, — a
matter which, as he was the last male of his house in
a direct line, and as there were other females in it whose
claims might clash with those of his own daughters,
was of difficult arrangement. By his empress, he had,

1. Maria Theresa, married, in 1738, to Francis Stephen,
first of Lorraine, and next grand duke of Tuscany;

2. Maria Anna, married four years after his death to
prince Charles of Lorraine, brother of the Tuscan grand
duke.* If the succession to the hereditary dominions
of his house was to rest in his own children, — a
law of undoubted obligation, — his eldest daughter was
his heir. But two nieces remained, who, as the
daughters of his elder brother the emperor Joseph,
might advance claims which, when supported by a
powerful armed force, were likely to endanger the suc-

* A son and a daughter, the first and last of his issue, preceded him to
the tomb, — the archduke Leopold dying in 1716, the archduchess Maria
Amelia in 1730.

250 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

cession of his own daughters. There were, 1. Maria
Josepha, married, in 1719> to the elector of Saxony,
afterwards Augustus III. of Poland ; 2. Maria Amelia,
the wife of Charles Albert, elector of Bavaria. To guard
against a contested succession, the emperor, early in his
reign (17 13), published the famous Pragmatic Sanction;
by which he vested the succession first in his male chil-
dren, if he should have any that survived him (perhaps
he was distrustful of his infant son Leopold's life), and
secondly, in their default, in his female children in the
order of primogeniture ; only in case both died without
issue, was the succession to rest in the daughters of
Joseph. Lest, however, this act should not be sufficient,
he compelled both his nieces and his daughter to sanc-
tion it, when their hands were given to princes whose
opposition might be troublesome. Thus, in 1719»
Maria Josepha renounced all claim to the succession,
unless the posterity of Charles, both male and female,
should be extinguished. Thus, also, in 1722, Maria
Amelia, on her marriage with the electoral prince of
Bavaria, recorded her unconditional acceptance of the
Pragmatic Sanction. In like manner, the archduchess
Maria Theresa, on her union (1736) with the duke of
Lorraine, renounced, for herself and her descendants,
all claim to the inheritance, if her father should have
a male child, or if her younger sister Maria Anna should
have one before her father's death. Still Charles was
not satisfied until he had procured the guarantee of this
celebrated Sanction both from the diet of the empire
and from the chief powers of Europe, from France and
Spain, from the Two Sicilies and Denmark, from Ba-
varia and Saxony, from England and Poland, from the
empire and Russia. Of what avail were some of these
solemn engagements, we shall soon perceive.*

* Authorities ; — Struvius, Corpus Historic ; Schmidt, Continuation ;
Pfeffel, Abrgge Chronologique j Barre, Histoire de PEmpire ; Denires,
Delle Rivoluzioni della Germania; Coxc, House of Austria j with the
general historians of Europe, especially those of France.

CHARLES VIT. 251

CHARLES VII. — By the death of Charles VI., 1740
Maria Theresa was, in accordance both with the rights of to
blood and the faith of treaties, the lawful sovereign of
Bohemia, Hungary, Austria Upper and Lower, Silesia,
Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Burgau, Brisgau, the Tyrol,
Friuli, Milan, Parma, Placenza, the Netherlands, and
part of Swabia. . Of this vast inheritance she accord-
ingly took undisputed possession. But she had soon to
experience the faithlessness of princes. Charles Albert,
elector of Bavaria, — a house which, from its alliance with
France, and its own ambition, seemed destined to be the
curse of the empire and the house of Austria, — claimed
Bohemia. Augustus of Saxony, who, like his queen,
had agreed to the Pragmatic Sanction, and by so doing
had procured the support of Austria in his election to
the throne of Poland, with great modesty demanded
the whole of the Austrian dominions. A similar de-
mand was made by the king of Spain, in virtue of his
descent from an Austrian archduchess ; by the king of
France because an archduchess had once been the consort
of an ancestor ; while the king of Sardinia, unable to cope
with monarchs so powerful, showed his superior mode-
ration, by declaring that he would be contented with the
duchy of Milan. The appearance of a young helpless
female on the thrones of these vast possessions, opened
to these chivalrous princes a glorious prospect for the
dismemberment of her states. But while they were
carefully apportioning their respective shares of the
spoil, a new and more dangerous competitor appeared
in Frederic king of Prussia. Leaving to others the
task of supporting imaginary claims by subtle arguments,
he burst at once into Silesia, conquered the greater part
of that duchy, and then magnanimously proposed to
remain neuter in the queen of Hungary's impending
warfare with other enemies, provided Lower Silesia
were conceded to him for ever. The high soul of
Maria Theresa scorned the overture ; but, her army
being defeated, she was in the end compelled to accede.
No sooner, however, was this object gained, than the

252 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

philosophic king, whom posterity has misnamed the
Great, in accordance with his governing principle, that
every prince must of necessity pursue his present ad-
vantage, and learning that France was invading the
empire, renewed the war, declaring that he must also
have Upper Silesia. In the mean time, France, though
she had guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction, marched an
army into Germany, to support the pretensions of the
Bavarian elector, and to place him on the imperial
throne. As the condition of such aid, she was pro-
mised the irrevocable possession of whatever conquests
she might make in the Low Countries, not doubting
that she could subjugate the whole. In consideration
of this tempting advantage, she agreed, in a solemn
treaty with the equally magnanimous Prussian monarch,
that he should preserve most of Silesia ; that Poland
should have Moravia and the rest of Silesia ; that the
elector of Bavaria should have Bohemia, Upper Austria,
and the Tyrol ; thus leaving to Maria Theresa, if she
could retain them, Lower Austria and Hungary. But,
though menaced by these royal bandits, the queen did not
despair : supported by Hungary, which exhibited the
most chivalrous devotion to her cause, she commenced
a career of warfare highly glorious to the Austrian arms.
She could not, indeed, prevent the frequent invasion of
her territories, especially of Bohemia, by the Bavarians,
French, and Prussians, nor the forcible elevation of the
Bavarian elector, Charles VII., to the imperial throne.
But this election did not take place before 1742; and
Charles, driven from his hereditary states, and every
where humbled by the Austrian arms, enjoyed his vain
dignity only three years. He was the vassal of France ;
the puppet of the French court ; and the rest of Ger-
many, not even excepting Hanover, which was forced
to neutrality, was virtually a province of the same
monarchy. But if George was thus prevented from
succouring his ally as elector of Hanover, as king of Eng-
land he could despatch money and troops to her service ;
and it was partly by this aid, small as it was, that she

FRANCIS I. 253

was enabled to triumph. That triumph, however,
would have been greater, more glorious, more enduring,
had she used her success with moderation. But she
became arrogant in proportion to that success, insisting
on the total ruin of those who had sought her ruin.
Her vengeance was not to be gratified. If the French
army was expelled in one campaign from the empire,
it reappeared the next spring : if Frederic was humbled
in this battle, he was victorious in the next. On the
whole, however, her administration during the reign of
Charles was singularly glorious : and that emperor
himself, just before his death, lamented his indiscretion
•in consenting to become a tool of France; and earnestly
exhorted his son, Maximilian Joseph, to seek a recon-
ciliation with the house of Austria.*

FRANCIS I. — The open violence of France had se- 1745
cured the election of Charles VII. She was now un- to
able to support a candidate; as Maximilian Joseph, in 1765-
accordance with his father's last instructions, obtained
peace with Austria, approved the Pragmatic Sanction,
and even consented to vote for the grand duke of Tus-
cany, husband of Maria Theresa. While the diet as-
sembled at Frankfort, the duke himself, at the head of
an Austrian army, overawed the French. In Septem-
ber (174-5) he was duly elected, two members only of the
college — Brandenburg and the Palatinate — refusing to
acknowledge him ; and even they, by separate treaty,
eventually submitted. In return, the Prussian king was
secured in the possession of Silesia. — The reign of
Francis I. was one of troubles. Involved in perpetual war
with France or Prussia ; menaced, now in Austria, now
in Bohemia, now in Italy, where he had every thing to
fear from the kings of Naples and of Spain ; victorious
one day, humbled the next ; his throne was not one of
down. In the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ( J 748), Francis
was acknowledged by all the European powers ; Austria

* Coxe, House of Austria, voL ii. (Reign of Maria Theresa). Russell,
Modern History of Europe, vol. iv. Denina, Delle Rivoluzioni, lib. xvi.
cap. 11, 12, 13. With the general histories of Europe, those especially of
France.

254 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

recovered the Low Countries, which had been conquered
by France ; but Silesia and the lordship of Glatz were
confirmed to the king of Prussia ; Parma, Placenza,
and Guastalla to don Felipe of Spain, with, however,
the eventual reversion to the house of Austria ; and
some districts were ceded to the king of Sardinia, as
duke of Savoy. A seven years' peace followed, — if that
can be called peace, where the parties, by negotiations
and intrigues, are actively supplanting each other, and
preparing for war. The interval, however, led to a com-
plete change in the policy of the house of Austria.
From the accession of Frederic, the line of Branden-
burg had made fearful strides towards the chief autho-
rity in Germany. The frontiers had been greatly ex-
tended, not only in the east, by Silesia, Glatz, and some
dependencies of Poland, but in the west by part of
Friesland; and the military power of the kingdom,
under its martial chief, been so augmented and dis-
ciplined, as to cause just alarm to the rest of Germany.
To resist France and Prussia at the same time, was im-
possible : hence Maria Theresa turned her eyes to the
hereditary and inveterate enemy of her house, whose
alliance would at least secure the Netherlands and
Western Germany from subjugation, and enable her to
direct her undivided efforts against the ambitious and
unprincipled Frederic. She had found by experience
that little dependence was to be placed on her former
allies, the English and Dutch, whose object was almost
uniformly selfish — the extension of their commerce ;
and who, having led her into a serious war, generally
abandoned her when that object was secured. As
Francis was exactly in the same position, he naturally
made common cause with his empress. Both were
still more justified by the fact, that England was the
first to make alliance with the most formidable enemy
of the Austrian house; for George II. and Frederic
were united before Maria Theresa became connected
with France. How little the reliance to be placed on

FRANCIS I. 255

human consistency ! The position of all the parties
was now changed. That of Frederic seemed the most
perilous ; since he had to encounter France, Austria, and
even Russia, which was in alliance with Austria; yet
he had but one considerable ally — England — whose in-
sular situation and commercial habits alike rendered
her unable to cope with the great powers of the conti-
nent. In the seven years which followed (1756 —
1?63), the fact was abundantly proved; the vacillation
of the English ministry, the imbecility of the English
generals, especially of the duke of Cumberland, who had
neither the courage nor the ability requisite for a mere
subaltern, compelling him to rely on his own resources.
While, with inconceivable cowardice, " the hero of Cul-
loden " surrendered a fine army, without striking a blow,
to the enemy, and a powerful sea armament returned
from the coast of France without firing a shot, Fre-
deric, after some bloody but indecisive battles, witnessed
the invasion of his dominions by overwhelming armies
of Russians and Austrians, while the French were act-
ing offensively on his western frontier. In these critical
circumstances, his ruin seemed inevitable ; but, though
his troops scarcely equalled one third those of his assail-
ants, the resources of his mind enabled him to triumph.
He inflicted such deadly defeats on the Austrians, that
they were compelled to seek shelter in Bohemia ; while
the Russians, who laid waste the country on every side,
found the desert which they had made unable to sup-
port them, and were equally compelled to retire. Yet
they retired only to return ; and if Frederic was often
victorious, he was also sometimes vanquished; while
even his advantages were bought at such an expense of
blood and treasure, that they were scarcely less hurtful
than defeat. Such was the general complexion of
the war ; such the alternations of success and failure ;
such the invariably lamentable result of both. Thus, if,
in 1760, Berlin itself, during the king's absence in
Saxony, was plundered by the combined Austrians and

256 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

Russians, the victory of Torgan, which immediately fol-
lowed, forced the Austrians beyond the Elbe. In
1762, on the accession of Peter III. tsar of Russia,
Frederic had one enemy less ; and though that eccentric
monarch was speedily deposed and succeeded by Cathe-
rine II., the peace with Prussia was still maintained.
The tsarina, indeed, had contemplated with unmingled
admiration the heroic efforts of Frederic against com-
bined Europe ; his constancy in adversity ; his cool yet
resolute defence ; his wonderful mental resources ; his
unbounded authority over his army, which he moved
•with as much facility as a machine ; and the extraor-
dinary measures by which he made Europe tremble at
the very moment his fate seemed, to every human eye,
sealed. But the most powerful advocates for peace
were the inhabitants of Saxony, Prussia, Brandenburg,
Silesia, Bohemia, and of the other provinces on which
the burthen of the war had rested ; which were now so
dreadfully wasted, as to require years of tranquillity,
directed by the most enlightened and patriotic views, to
restore. In compliance with the universal cry, with
the very dictates of necessity, conferences were opened
at Hubertsburg in Saxony, and the conditions of peace
signed in February, 1763. Silesia and Glatz were re-
nounced ; all conquests and prisoners restored ; Frederic
and Maria Theresa guaranteed each other's dominions ;
the empire, as well as Austria, was included in the paci-
fication ; and in a secret article, the Prussian monarch
engaged to assist the archduke Joseph, eldest son of
empress, in obtaining the imperial crown. 'About the
same time France and England were reconciled by the
treaty ,of Paris ; so that peace was restored through-
out all Europe, except between Russia and the Porte.
The following year, Joseph was elected king of the
Romans*; and in 1765, on the death of Francis I.,
he became the acknowledged head of the empire.t

* For the manner in which a German sovereign was crowned, which
may gratify a passing curiosity, see the Appendix.
f Coxe, House of Austria, voL ii. (Reign of Maria Theresa). Dcnina,

JOSEPH ii. 257 ""*

JOSEPH II. had little power. Without one foot of 1 765
territory, — his mother Maria Theresa being sovereign to
of all the Austrian states, and his younger brother
Leopold of Tuscany, which he had exchanged for the
throne of the empire, — he would soon have been hurled
from it by the ambitious monarch of Prussia, had not
the Austrian armies maintained him on it. For some
years he was not engaged in war ; and he had no other
employment than to witness the salutary reforms which
Maria Theresa introduced into the administration of
Austria : indeed, during her life, he was no less a
cipher than his father had been ; nor could all his
efforts, all his intrigues, wrest the sovereign authority
from her hands. Hence he rather acquiesced in, than
effected, the infamous partition of Poland (1773) be-
tween his mother, the empress of Russia, and the
Prussian monarch. Yet he approved the act ; and
that his spirit of aggrandisement was still unsatisfied,
appeared from the zeal of Maria Theresa and himself
in regard to the Bavarian succession, — an event which
again kindled the flames of war in Germany. At the
close of 1777> the elector of Bavaria, Maximilian Jo-
seph, died without male issue. The heir to all the
possessions of this house, except the allodials, which,
as they descended to females, were claimed by the
elector of Saxony in right of his mother, was, doubtless,
Charles Theodore, the elector palatine, who claimed,

1. As descending from Otho of Wittelspach, the com-
mon trunk of the Bavarian and palatine houses.

2. In virtue of the convention of Pavia, in 1329, which
declared the heritage inalienable ; the succession, on
the extinction of either house, being recognised in the
other, and which was sanctioned by the emperor then
reigning, Ludovic V. 3. In accordance with the Golden
Bull, which established the same indivisibility, and the
same right of succession. And, 4. In consequence of an

Delle Rivoltizioni della Germania, torn. vi. lib. 16. et 17. Russell, History
of Modern Europe, vol. v. With the general histories of Europe, especi-
ally those of England and France.
VOL. III. S

258 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

article in the treaty of Westphalia, which secured to
the palatine branch of the house the reversion of the
fifth electorate. But the duke of Mecklenburg Schwerin
insisted on the dismemberment of Bavaria, by claiming
the landgraviate of Leuchtenburg, in virtue of an
investiture conceded by the emperor Maximilian in
1602 ; and Austria, still more insatiable, claimed, 1.
Such parts of the Upper Palatinate as had formerly been
dependent on the crown of Bohemia. 2. The whole of
Lower Bavaria, in virtue of the investiture granted to
the Bavarian house of which she was a representative,
by the emperor Sigismund. 3. The lordship of Min-
delheim, in Swabia, the reversion of which had been
granted to the house of Austria, in 1614, by Matthias :
4. The allodials of the extinct house, in virtue of her
descent from its ancient princes ; contending that, in
this respect, the very laws of succession called her to
the heritage, in preference to the elector of Saxony.
Lastly, Joseph himself asserted his right to certain
lordships, which, as small fiefs, were now lapsed to the
empire.

Convinced how much depended on the promptitude
of his motions, Joseph ordered possession to be taken
of the whole electorate some days before the death of
Maximilian ; and, to remove the most lawful compe-
titor, he persuaded the count palatine, who had no
issue other than a natural son, to surrender his claims
to Bavaria. But the duke of Deux Fonts, the pre-
sumptive heir to Charles Theodore, protested against
the usurpation, to Prussia, to France, to the diet of the
empire, to Russia. Had the house of Austria been
suffered thus to engross these fine provinces, she would
have become too powerful for the other German states,
and formidable to the rest of Europe. Frederic of
Prussia was the first to remonstrate against this pro-
ject, to proclaim the rights of Charles Theodore, as
founded on a law of the empire, the violation of which
he could not witness unmoved ; and his representations
were aided by those of France and Russia. After some

JOSEPH II. 259

vain attempts at negotiation, Frederic poured an over-
whelming army into Bohemia, which laid waste the
country to the walls of Prague. But Maria Theresa,
now advanced in years, dreaded nothing so much as
another war, especially with such a man as the Prussian
king, who might one day dismember her hereditary
possessions, and dethrone her son. In this apprehen-
sion, and without so much as consulting Joseph, she
opened secret negotiations with Frederic ; and after
some time, France and Russia acting as mediators, peace
was restored at Teschen (1779)> on conditions widely
different from those which the emperor and her son
had demanded. Bavaria was restored to Charles Theo-
dore, together with the fiefs which had once belonged
to the Bohemian crown, and even the promise of those
which depended on the empire ; while a separate treaty
between Charles and the elector of Saxony reconciled
the claims in regard to the allodials. Yet Austria
gained, by this peace, that part of the circle of Burg-
hausen which lies between the Danube, the Inn, arid
the Salsa ; and Frederic, the presumptive heir to two
margravates, Anspach and Bareith, — a right which
Austria had always opposed, — extorted an engagement
that no opposition should in future be made to the union
of these possessions with the electorate of Branden-
burg. The peace, however, was odious to Francis ;
but, as he was not yet the sovereign of the vast Austrian
dominions, — of Hungary, Bohemia, Upper and Lower
Austria, the Tyrol, Carinthia, Carniola, Styria, Milan,
and the Low Countries, — he was compelled to submit.
He consoled himself, however, by hopes of the future.
One of his most politic schemes was to separate the
interests of Russia from those of Prussia ; and, for this
purpose, he hastened to meet Catherine, with whom he
passed some weeks at the court of St. Petersburgh.
Flattered by this mark of respect from the most dig-
nified sovereign in Europe, that princess was easily
persuaded to forsake Prussia for Austria. — On the de-
cease of Maria Theresa, in 1780, Joseph gave vent to
s 2

260 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

his long-suppressed ambition. Master of such bound-
less states ; secure of Tuscany, through his brother
Leopold the grand duke ; of Modena, Mirandola, and
Reggio, through the marriage of his brother Ferdinand
with Maria Beatrix, heiress to those possessions ; of
Cologne, through his brother Maximilian, whom the
chapter had elected coadjutor to that archiepiscopal
electorate ; and believing, from the marriage of his
sister, Marie Antoinette, with the dauphin of France,
afterwards Louis XVI., that France would not openly
thwar this projects, — there seemed, indeed, nothing too
high for his reach. But never were expectations more
cruelly disappointed. 1. His first object was to abolish
the Barrier Treaty, by which several important for-
tresses in the Austrian Netherlands were garrisoned with
troops belonging to the United Provinces. He did not
reflect that this treaty was framed to resist the ambition
of France, which, as Great Britain and the states-
general were guarantees of it, could not invade the
Netherlands without provoking the hostility of those
powers. Infatuated by his connection with the court of
Versailles, and taking advantage of the war which now
raged between the two maritime countries, he called on
the states to evacuate the fortresses, and gave orders for
their demolition. All accordingly were destroyed, ex-
cept Luxemburg, Ostend, Namur, and Antwerp. The
ease with which he enforced this important point, em-
boldened him to insist that a new line of frontier be-
tween the Austrian Netherlands and the States should
be traced ; in other words, that his possessions should
be augmented at the expense of Holland. He pro-
mised, however, to desist from these obsolete claims,
provided the navigation of the Scheldt were thrown
open to the vessels of his subjects. The Dutch, true
to their commercial monopoly, fired on an imperial brig
which attempted, in compliance with the emperor's
orders, to force the passage of that river. In the end,
France, which had need of the Dutch alliance, opposed
him ; and he was forced to accept (1785) a sum of

JOSEPH II. 26l

money by way of indemnity for renouncing Maestricht
and the navigation of the Scheldt. He might now open
his eyes to his true position in regard to France, but
this knowledge did not teach him moderation. Equally
fruitless, and from the same opposition, were his efforts
to aggrandise himself on the side of Turkey. Though
he aided Catherine with his troops, the only result was
the transfer of the Crimea to Russia : when he pre-
pared to procure some less important cession for him-
self, France threatened him with a hostile coalition
unless he desisted. His third project, to exchange
the Netherlands for Bavaria, — a project in which he
no less blindly relied on the co-operation of his brother-
in-law, Louis XVI. — was as unsuccessful. In this
object he had little difficulty in procuring the concur-
rence of Charles Theodore, to whom the Netherlands,
with the regal title, appeared more attractive than his
hereditary duchy ; France he hoped to gain by the
offer of Luxemburg and Namur ; the United Provinces
by other concessions ; his subjects, about to be thus
transferred, by the extension of their commerce in the
East Indies; and the Germanic diet, through the electors
of Bavaria, Cologne, and Treves, who engaged to sup-
port him. The kings of Sardinia, Prussia, and Great
Britain, indeed, — the first, from the preponderance which
the new requisition would give an enemy in the affairs
of Italy ; the second, from that which the same power
would obtain in the empire ; the last, from the obli -
gations of the guarantee, — would be sure to oppose him:
but, aided by the advantages he possessed, and by the
promised support of Russia, he persisted in his pur-
pose. Alarmed at the progress of the negotiation, Fre-
deric excited the duke of Deux-Ponts to appeal to
foreign powers ; while he himself so artfully wrought
on the fears of the Germanic princes, that a league was
formed by them to maintain the integrity, not only of
the empire in general, but of each state in particular.
In sullen discontent, the emperor was compelled to bend
before this formidable coalition. On the death of the
s 3

S62 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC 'EMPIRE.

great Frederic (1786), he expected to resume the su-
periority of his house over the empire ; but in this
expectation he was equally doomed to disappointment.
Thus rid, however, of a formidable rival, and convinced
that, from the internal distractions of France, he had
little to fear from the opposition of that power, he
again turned his eyes towards Turkey. By renewing
his alliance with Catherine, and appearing as a prin-
cipal in the war with the Porte, he hoped to extend
the boundary of his empire in the east. This war
commenced in the spring of the year 1788 ; but, though
lie was at the head of a great army, his own oper-
ations covered him with disgrace, while those of his
general, Loudon, were crowned with honour : in the
whole campaign, though he lost 30,000 men by the
sword, and more by pestilence, he subdued only four
insignificant fortresses. Had Russia been able to co-
operate zealously with him, the result would have been
different ; but an irruption of the Swedes into Fin-
land, and a demonstration even against the capital,
recalled the troops of Catherine from the shores of the
Black Sea to those of the Baltic. In the following
spring (1789) hostilities were renewed, and with greater
success. The Turks were signally defeated ; fortress
after fortress was reduced ; until Belgrade, which had
once been the bulwark of Christendom, again fell into
the hands of the emperor, and until the frontier towns
of European Turkey were in the hands of the two
imperial allies. It seemed, indeed, that the intention
of both to share the vast provinces from the Bosphorus
to the Adriatic, and from the Danube to the Grecian
Archipelago, was about to be realised, when the im-
portant events now occurring in Western Europe arrested
the triumphant progress of the Austrian arms.*
1780 From the death of his mother, Joseph had been a
to reformer, — in some respects, a hasty and inconsiderate
' one. In his eagerness to place his subjects on the same

* The general histories of Europe ; and above alJ, Coxe, House of Aus-
tria, vol. ii. (Reign of Joseph II.).

JOSEPH II. 263

level, he overlooked the circumstances of religion, man-
ners and language, habits and opinions, which, though
in themselves absurd, time had consecrated ; and to ex-
plode which required, not sudden efforts of power, but
a gradual caution, and patient succession of measures.
In regard to language, struck with the variety (ten in
number) which prevailed in the different provinces sub-
mitted to his house, he endeavoured to introduce the
German alone, commencing with Hungary and Bohemia.
His efforts were vain : if a few, ambitious of public
dignities, learned a language which was exclusively
employed in the administration of justice, and in the
offices of government, the majority exclaimed against
the innovation ; and alarmed the nation, by insinuating
that the abolition of the native language would be fol-
lowed by that of their ancient privileges. Nor was the
insinuation unfounded. All separate jurisdictions were
soon abolished, and the Austrian monarchy was divided
into thirteen governments : 1 . Galicia ; 2. Bohemia ;
3. Moravia, with Austrian Silesia ; 4. Lower Austria ;

5. Interior Austria, or Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola ;

6. Exterior Austria, or the possessions in Swabia ; 7-
Tyrol; 8. Transylvania; 9- Hungary; 10. Croatia;
11. Lombardy ; 12. The Low Countries; 13. Goritz,
Gradisca, Trieste. Each government was subdivided
into circles, or districts, the number varying with the
extent. Over each subdivision was a magistrate, the
captain of the circle, who presided over the adminis-
tration of justice, and protected the peasants from the
oppressions of feudality. In the capital of each go-
vernment was a court of justice, with two tribunals, —
one for the nobles, the other for the rest of the people ;
and the right of appeal was established through gra-
duated ascents, until a cause was finally decided by the
supreme tribunal of Vienna. The police was confided
to a separate branch of administration, with the same
subordination of offices : the military department was
the same ; and all were immediately controlled by the
imperial chancery at Vienna. In these innovations there

6 4

364 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

were two great advantages, — the remarkable promptitude
with which public affairs were despatched, and the
exemption of the peasantry from the tyranny of local
hereditary tribunals. But there were also disadvantages
more numerous and great. In the first place, the au-
thority of the provincial states, which had always been
a barrier against the usurpations of the crown, was
either abolished, or so circumscribed as to be nearly
useless. In the second, the will of the sovereign was
declared to be the basis of all administration. In the
third, this violent suppression of what had for ages been
regarded as sacred, was dangerous ; since it taught one
party to detest the throne, and, in another, weakened the
reverence due to all authority. And even in carry-
ing into effect measures which in themselves were sa-
lutary, he outraged always the prejudices, often the
interests, of others. Thus, in his celebrated Edict of
Taxation, which, by changing the nature of the impost
on land, was designed to relieve the peasant from feudal
vassalage, he forgot to indemnify the landholders ; he
raised, in some places, the impost to a far higher rate
than it had ever been, and introduced his reforms with
so much violence, as to indispose high and low, rich and
poor. By abolishing all feudal distinctions, all manorial
rights, especially titles, heriots, corvees, task-works, he
certainly did good. Except in Lombardy, the Low
Countries, and the Tyrol —

" All the lands were divided into feudal or signorial estates,
and estates belonging to free cities. The estates belonging to
the free cities were under the municipal ; and the free citizens,
proprietors of those lands, possessed them in full property,
and might sell, give, or exchange them, without let or
hindrance. The feudal taxes were divided into — I. The
Dominicalia, or lordships ; II. Rusticalia, or farms. I. The
lordships were possessed and cultivated by the lord or land-
holder, and were charged with the land tax. 2. The rusticalia
were subdivided into ordinary and extraordinary. The extra-
ordinary were the farms sold by the feudal lord for a certain
price, on condition of receiving an annual quit rent. The
purchaser was at liberty to alienate these copyholds without

JOSEPH II. 265

the permission of the lord ; always, however, charged with
the payment of the quit rent and the land tax. The ordinary
were farms granted by the lord, with the following burthens :
1. The tithe of the whole produce ; and, 2. Ninety days'
labour of one man with two horses in the course of the year,
at the option of the lord. (In Bohemia, the peasant paid no
tithes, but was obliged to do 16O days' labour in the year.)
3. A heriot paid by the successor on the death of the holder ;
and a land tax of 14 per cent., which was collected by the
landlord. According to the law, the land tax ought to have
been only 12 percent, both for the lordshipsand rusticalia, but
the feudal lords took 14 per cent, for the rusticalia, and paid
only 10 per cent, for themselves — alleging, that they were
responsible to the crown for the land tax of their peasants.
Joseph new modelled the land tax and feudal taxes in the
following proportion: — The peasants were to pay 10 per
cent, in lieu of tithes ; 8 per cent, in lieu of corvees ;
and l'2g Per cent, for the land tax ; or 30 per cent, in lieu of
all taxes and task-work."*

In regard to the church, Joseph was no less innovat-
ing. No bull from the pope could be published without
the authority of government : monastic fraternities were
rigorously subjected to diocesan jurisdiction, and, con-
sequently, exempted from obedience to the chief of the
order resident at Rome: some bishoprics were abolished ;
the revenues of others were diminished : monasteries
were treated in the same manner : of the nunneries,
all were suppressed, except a few belonging to the order
of St. Ursula or St. Francis de Sales, which were re-
served as seminaries of education ; and even in these,
the number of the professed was greatly reduced. Evi-
dently these reforms should have been the work of
time ; the monks and nuns should have been suffered
to die off before their houses were suppressed : but
they were pitilessly driven into the world, with pen-
sions or without ; and as most of them, by long seclu-
sion, were incapable of providing for themselves, they
were reduced to the deepest distress; while their former
homes were converted into hospitals, barracks, maga-
zines, or colleges. Primogeniture was also abolished ;

* Coxe, House of Austria (Reign of Joseph II.).

266 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

marriage declared to be a contract purely civil ; di-
vorces were facilitated ; bastards rendered capable of
inheriting ; and funeral honours were prohibited. Of
these, all were dangerous, some wicked, innovations.
In other respects, — as where he forbade pilgrimages and
processions, the worship of images and of relics — he was
more rational ; but even here, his violent eccentricities
led him into mischief, since they effectually destroyed
the salutary impressions which his measures were cal-
culated to produce. Thus when, for the instruction of
the people, he caused a politico-moral catechism, founded
on his own decrees, to be drawn up, he exhibited scan-
dalous profaneness, by referring to those acts in much
the same language as was employed in the reference of
the common religious catechism to the Holy Scrip-
tures.

1 " Thou shall not send any money into foreign countries
for masses." (Ordinance, March 3. 1781).

" Thou shall not appear at processions with costly flags,
nor dressed with sashes, or high feathers in thy hat, or with
music." (Ord. May 16. 1781.)

" Thou mayest purchase and read the Catholic Bible,
which is approved by the imperial censors." (Ord.
Aug. 10. 1781.)

" Thou mayest obtain from thy bishop a dispensation for
marriage, where there is no natural or religious order to the
contrary." (Ord. Sept. 14. 1781.)

" Thou shalt not seek any dignity of the court of Rome,
without the permission of thy sovereign." (Ord. Aug. 21.
and Oct. 2. 1781.)

" Thou shalt not bring into the land any foreign Breviary,
Missal, or Psalter, or other similar work or paper." (Ord.
Oct. 8. 1781.)

" Thou shall forbear all occasions of dispute relative to
matters of faith ; and thou shalt, according to the true spirit
of Christianity, affectionately and kindly treat those who are
nol of thy communion." (Ord. Oct. 24. 1781.)

" Thou shalt not hold in thy house any private assembly for
devotion." (Ord. May 14. 1728.)

" Thou shalt not in any wise use the crown of St. Christo-
pher, or any other superstitious supplications." (Ord.
Nov. 23. 1767.)

" Thou mayest marry the woman whom thou hast ravished,

JOSEPH II. 267

if she is willing to marry thee, when she is out of thy power."
(Ord. Jan. 16. 1782.)

" Thou shall not marry the woman that has murdered, or
caused to be murdered, her husband, who stood in the way of
thy marriage." (Ord. April 28. 1781.)

" Thou shall not transport out of the land hares' skins of
hares' fur." (Ord. May 27, 1784.)

" Thou shall nol keep any useless dogs. " (Ord. April 24.
1781.)

" Thou shall not plant tobacco without the permission of
thy lord." (Ord. Sept. 12. 1777.)

The only unexceptionable act of Joseph, — unexcep-
tionable, we mean, either in matter or in form — is the
Edict of Toleration ; in which protestants and Greeks
were allowed the free exercise of religion ; in which
all Christians, whatever their denominations, were de-
clared equally citizens, equally eligible to all offices
and dignities ; in which every population of 3000
souls were allowed to build a church, provided they
established at the same time a permanent fund for the
support of the minister and the relief of the poor ; in
which the Jews were allowed the exercise of all
trades and professions, with access to public schools and
universities. — That many of the preceding precipitate
and inconsiderate innovations should be disagreeable to the
pope, was inevitable ; and, as the conservator of eccle-
siastical discipline, he remonstrated against them.
When these remonstrances were received with indiffer-
ence, he undertook a journey to Vienna, in the hope of
prevailing on a son of the church to stop short in the
midst of a dangerous career. But though he was re-
ceived with much outward respect, his arguments and
entreaties were ineffectual ; and, after a month of vain
parade, he returned to Rome. — Equally characteristic
were the efforts of Joseph to improve the manufactures
and commerce of his people. By constructing roads,
canals, and bridges ; by opening free ports ; by suppress-
ing the vexatious custom-houses of the provinces in order
to open an uninterrupted communication ; by lending

268 HISTORY OF. THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

money at a low rate of interest — often without in-
terest— to manufacturers, for the erection of mills, and
the encouragement of particular branches of industry ;
he doubtless effected much good. But, with the fata-
lity destined to accompany all his measures, he placed
so high a duty on foreign manufactures, as virtually
to prohibit, — a step which, by raising beyond all bounds
the cost of any commodity, must, however it bene-
fited the manufacturer or dealer, be deeply injurious to
the consumers. — Lastly, though comparatively illiterate
himself, he was too wise not to encourage learning in
others ; and in this path he did more than any sove-
reign of his time. The universities, colleges, and
schools which he opened or enlarged ; the libraries
which he collected ; the professorships which he
endowed ; the money which he expended in the pur-
chase of philosophical, mathematical, and surgical
instruments, — entitle him to great praise. Not less
meritorious was the act by which he wrested that
formidable power, the censorship of the press, from the
clergy, and invested it in a commission of literary men
resident at Vienna. Ecclesiastics are not, indeed, the
worst, but certainly they are bad, censors of the press.
Of this fact, abundant evidence is to be found in the
mischievous labours of the congregation of the Index
at Rome, which has closed, to the great body of the
reading public throughout Europe, thousands and tens
of thousands of the most valuable works that have ever
appeared, — not because they offended against good go-
vernment, or morals, or manners, — but because they
sometimes condemned — and that incidentally — things
which those grave personages would not allow to be
investigated.*

1786 With whatever dissatisfaction the reforms of Joseph

iTQo ""gh* be witnessed in other provinces, in the Nether-

* lands they were regarded with execration ; and they

were one of the causes, — though certainly not the chief

cause, — which led to their separation from the Austrian

* Coxe, House of Austria (Reign of Joseph IL).

JOSEPH II. 269

monarchy. When, by the peace of Utrecht, these fine
regions were transferred to the house of Hapsburg, the
transfer was accompanied by a condition guaranteed by
the maritime powers, — that the ancient laws, customs,
and constitutions should be preserved; and this condition
was religiously accepted by Charles VI., Maria Theresa,
and Joseph himself. But the eye of this last sovereign
was offended at the anomalous state of these provinces.
Each was a separate sovereignty ; had separate, and often,
widely different laws ; and frequently, in the same pro-
vince, there were cities and districts with their own
peculiar customs and forms of administration. Each
had its representatives, chosen from the three orders, —
nobles *, clergy, and burghers, who constituted a sort
of senate, and even shared the supreme authority with
the sovereign or his lieutenant, the governor-general :
they had the right of taxation, of regulating duties on
exports and imports ; of prohibiting or of encouraging
any branch of industry or of foreign trade, of admit-
ting or of excluding the vessels of foreign nations, of
providing for the collection of the revenues. In every
province they voted an annual sum for the expenses of
the local administration, and the support of the army ;
and, on extraordinary occasions, they were not back-
ward to vote, under the name of a free gift, an addi-
tional sum for the use of the sovereign.

" The courts of justice were established under different
forms, not only in each province, but in every district, every
city, and every village ; and gave employment and influence to
a multitude of judges, advocates, and magistrates. Besides
these, were various feudal courts and petty tribunals for the
cognisance of the chase, royal domains, maritime affairs, and
customs. In Brabant, Hainhault, and Guelderland, appeals
were decided by the respective supreme tribunals ; but in Lux-
emburg, Namur, and the other provinces were carried before
the great triunal of Mechlin. Above all, the tribunal called the
Council of Brabant was most respectable for the impartiality
of its decisions, and the dignity and independence of its
members. Its jurisdiction extended no less to affairs of state,

* In Flanders, the nobles were not admitted into the assembly of the
states.

270 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

than to those of justice ; and the edicts of the sovereign were
not valid till approved by this court, and anthenticated by the
great seal of the duchy. Its functions and powers were
minutely defined in the goyous Entry ; its integrity was secured
by the choice of the members, who were persons of respect-
able birth, talents, and property ; and it formed the great
barrier between the prerogatives of the sovereign and the
liberties of the people. The power of the clergy was almost un-
bounded, as well from the influence of religion among a people
devoted to the worship of their ancestors, as from their riches
and number. The hierarchy consisted of one archbishop, and
seven bishops : there were also 108 abbeys, each endowed with
annual revenues of from 60.0OOto 300,000 florins*; numerous
convents ; and the number of religious persons, regular and
secular, of both sexes, amounted to above 30,OOO. The clergy
possessed a considerable part of the landed property; and,
being the first order of the states, were enabled to relieve them-
selves from a considerable part of the public burthens, by fixing
the land tax at a low rate, and throwing the impost on articles
of consumption.

" Their predominant influence was extended by the system
of public education, which was subjected to the immediate
control of the hierarchy. The university of Louvain had
long been celebrated for its numerous and richly-endowed
colleges, and was formerly distinguished for learning and
discipline. It possessed extraordinary privileges, with the
patronage of numerous benefices both in the Netherlands and
bishopric of Liege ; and, above all, its academical honours
were an indispensable qualification for the possession of every
civil and ecclesiastical office. The members devoted to the
papal see maintained a blind adherence to the system of
the ancient schoolmen, and proscribed all innovations adopted
in other seminaries."

To destroy the various and incongruous forms of
government and of administration, and to substitute what
he called a simple and efficient scheme, was the object
of Joseph. His first care was to abolish the privileges
of the university of Louvain, and to place foreign teach-
ers over a new theological seminary in the same place ;
his next was to abolish the permanent committee of
chapters, the councils and courts of justice, and to

* The florin of the Netherlands was about 1*. 9J
f Coxe, House of Austria (Keign of Joseph II.).

JOSEPH II. 271

declare the Netherlands an integral province of the
Austrian dominions. He divided it into nine circles or
districts, as in Bohemia and Austria ; -each with tri-
bunals^ exempt from the control of the states, and de-
pendent only on an imperial council. Never were people
more attached to their religion and government than
those of the Netherlands : the outcry, accordingly, against
these innovations, was loud and incessant ; nor was the
ferment allayed by the banishment of those who, whether
clergy or laymen, whether bishops or senators, abbots
or burgesses, dared to condemn them. Violence, without
the promptest means to enforce it, never does good : the
enraged deputies refused to grant the ordinary supplies
until all grievances were redressed ; the new seminary
at Louvain was abolished ; the collectors of the revenue
were forbidden to acknowledge the new intendants of
the circles ; remonstrances, the most spirited in lan-
guage, were presented to "the imperial governors ; and
the powers which had guaranteed the constitution of the
Netherlands, were summoned to protect it. Into the
endless transactions which followed, — the alternate vio-
lence and concessions of the one party, the systematic
resistance of the other, the intrigues of both, — we will
not enter. Suffice it to observe, that time served only
to aggravate the minds of the people ; yet that a recon-
ciliation would probably have been effected between them
and their sovereign, had not the successful efforts of
the French republicans emboldened them to aim at the
same end, — their independence alike of foreigners and
of the crown. Troops were raised ; allegiance to the
emperor was solemnly renounced ; the imperial forces,
which were afraid to act with vigour, were defeated;
and early in 1790, the various states, in imitation of
Brabant, declared themselves sovereign and independent
states. These were the events which arrested the pro-
gress of the Austrian arms in Turkey, and probably
shortened the days of the rash misguided emperor.*

* The general histories of Europe, especially Coxe, House of Austria,
roL ii. (Heigu ol Joseph II.).

2?2 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

1790 LEOPOLD II. — As Joseph left no issue, Leopold his
to brother, who, as grand duke of Tuscany, had acquired
' great popularity in that state, succeeded to the here-
ditary dominions of the house of Austria. He found
discontent in every part ; the Netherlands virtually in-
dependent ; Hungary prepared to throw off the yoke ;
Bohemia disaffected ; France unable to assist him ;
Prussia his enemy ; England estranged by the policy of
his predecessors ; Russia, the only power from which
he could expect aid, engaged in warfare with the Turks.
But Leopold had qualities which were sure to win the
hearts of his own subjects : he'abolished the more odious
innovations of his brother ; Prussia and England were
gained ; a peace concluded with the Porte on terms of
advantage ; and so much wisdom as well as moderation
was exhibited by him, that he had no difficulty in pro-
curing the imperial crown. To pacify Hungary was a
more arduous matter ; but, by restoring such of its
ancient privileges as had been lately disregarded, and by
marching troops to restrain the more rebellious nobles,
, who clamoured loudly for the sovereignty of the people,
he succeeded. His personal qualities confirmed the
empire which he had established over these proud mag-
nates ; for let not the reader suppose that the word
" people" implied any other than persons of free and
noble birth. His next step was to pacify the revolted
states of the Netherlands, by offering to re-establish
their ancient constitutions ; and when they obstinately
refused to hear him, he marched his troops into the
Low Countries. He knew that the rebel chiefs were
divided among themselves ; and he could rely on the
neutrality of Russia, Holland, and Great Britain. After
some fruitless negotiations, Leopold recovered these pro-
vinces ; but, as he refused to restore every thing to the
state in which it had formerly existed, he deeply of-
fended the inhabitants of Brabant : as a natural con-
sequence, they joined the cause of the French Jacobins,
and were encouraged by their Parisian brethren to
resist. The disputes of Leopold with France ; his

LEOPOLD II. 273

efforts to save his sister and brother-in-law ; his alliance
with Prussia, for the purpose of arresting the progress
of the new republican principles ; naturally added to the
fury of the French jacobins, and to the zeal with which
they endeavoured to dissever the Low Countries from
the throne of Austria. During his life, however, no
open hostilities took place ; and to the reign of his son
and successor, the emperor Francis II., we cannot so
much as advert. The French revolution commences
a new era in the history of Germany, of Europe, almost
of the world. It has been often and well described; —
so often, that every reader is acquainted with it ; and so
well, that nothing more can be added to it.

* Coxe, House of Austria, vol. ii. (Reign of Leopold II.).

VOL. III.

APPENDIX (A).

CORONATION OF AN EMPEROR.

THE emperor Joseph II. 'was crowned on the 3d of April, 1764,
with the usual ceremonies, which are nearly as follow : — As
soon as the ambassador of the emperor elect has declared his
majesty's intention of being crowned, and the insignia and
jewels are brought by the respective deputies from Aix-la-
Chapelle and Nuremberg, the elector of Mentz receives proper
notice, and the grand mareschal of the empire sends the usual
invitations to the courts of the electoral highnesses, or delivers
them to their ambassadors at Ratisbon.

At 8 o'clock in the morning of the day appointed, the eccle-
siastical electors of Mentz, Treves, and Cologne, who are
already assembled at Frankfort, proceed in their robes of state,
attended by a numerous train of officers, with the assisting
bishops and prelates, to the cathedral church of St. Bartholo-
mew at Frankfort, where they put on their respective pontifical
robes, mitres, caps, &c., and wait for the arrival of the proces-
sion. The elector of Mentz, whose office it is to consecrate
his imperial majesty, assisted by the electors of Treves and
Cologne, then receives the jewels, with the usual oaths and
ceremonies, from the deputies of Aix-la-Chapelle, in the sa-
cristy ; and the bishops and prelates assist in placing them in
proper order, on an altar, at a convenient distance from the
high altar in the chancel, except the Gospel in golden letters
and the relics of St. Stephen, which are placed upon the high
altar itself. The crown, sceptre, globe, and the sword of St.
Maurice are then carried by two canons of the church in a
coach to the emperor's residence, accompanied by eight nobles
of the consecrator's household in two other carriages, and a
body of guards.

The canons sit backward, and place the insignia upon the
front seat of the carriage. The Dalmatic robe, the alba or
T 2

2?6 BISTORT OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

imperial mantle, and stola, another of the imperial vestments
embroidered with gold and precious stones, the sandals, bus-
kins, gloves, and girdle, all of which are richly adorned with
jewels, are placed by the deputies from Nuremberg upon an
altar in the electoral chapel, the doors of which are shut im-
mediately afterwards by the count of Werthen, door-keeper of
the Holy Roman Empire.

The secular electors, or their first ministers, then repair to
the senate house, habited in their robes of state, with the same
trains as on the day of election, and proceed from thence on
horseback to the emperor's residence. There they alight from
their horses ; and are received by his majesty, in person, in his
apartment. The emperor mounts his horse, which is in wait-
ing, and richly caparisoned, at 1O o'clock ; and as soon as the
ambassadors are remounted, the procession commences in the
following order: — 1. The grand provost of the empire, with
his staff' of office, and the imperial harbinger of state. 2. Two
trabaris, or lifeguards. The harbinger of the elector of Bruns-
wick Lunenburg, with all the principal servants attending the
«inbassy; and afterwards the servants of all the other electoral
ambassadors, the harbingers and servants of the electors pre-
sent, and the emperor's servants, habited in proper liveries.
4. The pages of honour in the service of the elector of Bruns-
wick, and other electors, according to their rank. 5. The
mare'schals of the court of the electors of Mentz, Treves, and
Cologne, with their other officers of state. 6. The members
of the council, secretaries of legation, noblemen of the courts,
chamberlains, ministers, princes, and counts, uncovered, on
foot. 7. Kettle-drums and trumpets playing during the whole
procession. 8. The emperor's heralds, properly habited, on
horseback ; and after them, the electors, or the ambassadors
who represent them, on horseback ; the hereditary officers of
the empire bearing the insignia, which were delivered to them
at the emperor's residence. The hereditary grand sewer, bear-
ing the imperial globe in the middle ; the hereditary grand
chamberlain, with the sceptre, on the right ; and the grand trea-
surer, with the crown on the left ; all in one line. Then the
hereditary grand cup-bearer, and the hereditary grand mare-
schal with the sword of St. Maurice drawn. 9. His impe-
rial majesty, habited in his royal, electoral, or ducal robes of
his own house, and the crown of his family upon his head,
under a splendid canopy, supported by the senior senators of
Frankfort, on horseback ; attended by the grand chamberland
of his household, master of the horse, captain of the guards
and halberdiers, with a body of guards walking on both sides
uncovered. On the approach of his imperial majesty to the

APPENDIX. 277

porch of the cathedral, their electoral highnesses of Mentz,
Treves, and Cologne, mitred, and holding their archiepiscopal
crosiers, attended by all the bishops and abbots, go to meet
him, preceded by the canons of the church of Frankfort, and
the canons of their own cathedrals, with their crucifixes richly
ornamented ; the electoral hereditary mareschal, with their
swords of state inverted ; and before the elector of Mentz, the
proper officer, bearing the the seals of the empire upon a silver
staff. As soon as his majesty has dismounted, he passes
through to take place of the electors ; and the elector of
Mentz sprinkles him with holy water, repeating the usual
prayer, Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini I to which the
bishops and abbots make the response, Qui fecit ccelum et
terram. The elector proceeds, Sit nomen Domini benedic-
tumf Resp. Ex hoc nunc et usque in seculum. The con-
secrator then says, Oremus ! Omnipotent sempiterne Deus,
quifamulum tuum, N.N. regni fas'igio dignatits es sublimare,
tribue ei queesumus, ut itn in preesentis seculi cursu cunctorum
in communi disponat, quatenus a tuee veritatis tramite non re-
cedat per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum- Resp. Amen.

When this ceremony is over, and the nobles, ministers,
counts, and princes, with the electors, or their representatives,
have proceeded, his electoral highness, the consecrator, goes
with his whole train of bishops, canons, priests, and deacons,
in the order above mentioned, to the altar. After him fol-
lows the hereditary grand mareschal of the empire, with a
drawn sword, preceding his imperial majesty ; and the electors
of Treves and Cologne, at proper distances, conduct him to a
seat prepared for the occasion in the middle of the church,
elevated three steps, and under a splendid canopy. As his
majesty enters the church, the kettle-drums and trumpets strike
up, and the Antiphone, Ecce ego mitlam Angelum meum, &c. is
performed in full choir with the usual responses. During
this, the electors, nobles, &c. take their seats, and the here-
ditary officers bearing the insignia stand near the emperor in
the following order : — The hereditary mareschal with his
drawn sword, and the hereditary arch-chamberlain with the
sceptre, on the left; the grand sewer with the imperial globe,
and the hereditary grand treasurer bearing the crown upon a
velvet cushion, on the right ; and the hereditary grand cup-
bearer immediately before the emperor. When the Antiphone
is sung, the electors of Treves and Cologne, assisted by the
bishops and abbots, conduct his majesty to the high altar,
where he kneels upon a cushion, covered with purple, upon
the upper step, and the officers of state continue in their re-
spective places standing. The elector of Mentz, standing over
T 3

278 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

him with the crosier in bis right hand, says in a loud voice,
Domine, salvum fac regem ; and the surrounding clergy
answer, Et exaudi nos in die, qua invocaverimus ! Consec.
Oremus ! Deus I qui scis genus humanum nulla virtute posse
subsistere, concede propitius ; ut famulus tuns N. quern pojiulo
tuo voluisti jirefet-ri; ita ut tuo fulciatur adjutorio, quatenus,
quibus potuerit prodesse, valeat per Dominum nostrum Jesum
Christum. Resp. Amen. Consec. Oremus ! Omnipotent
sempiterne Deus, ccelestiumque Moderator, qui famulum tuum
JV. ad regni fostigium dignatus es provehere, concede queesumus,
ut a cunctis adversantibus liberatus, ad eeterna pads gaudia per
te venire donantem mereatur, per eundem Dominum Jesum
Christum, &c. Resp. Amen. When this part of the service is
over, his majesty is conducted with the same ceremony to his
seat.

The elector of Mentz then begins high mass. The first
part, as the Kyrie eleison, and Gloria in excelsis, are sung in
full choir, after which follow the collects, prayers for the day,
&c. Before the Gospel, the grand chamberlain of his majesty's
household, attended by the mareschal of the court, takes off
the crown and robes of his house, and delivers them to the
officers in waiting. The elector of Troves and Cologne, at-
tended by the other electors, then conduct him again to the
altar, where his majesty kneels, and the elector of Mentz, like-
wise kneeling, repeats the Litany to the verse Ut nos exaudire
digneris ; upon which the latter rises, and holding the crosier
in his hand, repeats the usual prayers and benedictions, as-
sisted by the electors of Treves and Cologne, making the accus-
tomed crosses ; Ut hunc famulum tuum N in regem electum bene
+ dicere digneris, to which the clergy answer, Te rogamus audi
nos. Consec. Ut eum sublunare et con + secrare digneris. Resp.
Te rogamus audi nos- Consec. Ut eum ad regni, et imperii
fastigium, feliciter per + ducere digneris. Resp. Te rogamus
audi nos. At the commencement of this Litany, the protestant
electors and ambassadors leave the altar, and return to their
seats ; and at the conclusion of it the others rise j and the con-
secrater, having put on his mitre again, and resumed his cro-
sier, addresses himself to the emperor as follows : — 1. Vis
, sanctam ^fidem catholicam et apostolicam lenere el operibus juslis
servare. 2. Vis srmctis ecclesiis ecclesiarumque minhteris Jidelis
esse tutor ac defensor ? 3. Vis regnum a Deo tibi concessum
secundum justitiam preedecessorum tuorum regere et efficaciter
defendere ? 4. Vis jura regni et imperii, bona ejusdem injuste
dispersa recupere et conservare, et jideliter in usus regni el im-
perii dispensnre ? 5. Vis paiiperum et divitium, i>id>iarum et
orphanorum, tequus esse judex et pius defensor 9 6. Vis sane-

APPENDIX. 279

tissimo in Christo patri et domino Romano pontifid et sanctce
Romance ecclesice subjectionem debitam et fidem reverenter ex-
hibere ? To each of which questions his imperial majesty
answers, Veto ; and then approaching nearer to the altar, and
placing his right hand upon the Holy Gospel, which was
brought from Aix-la-Chapelle, he takes a solemn oath in the
following words : — Omnia preemissa in quantum divino fullus
fuero adjutorio Jideliter adimplebo, sic me Deus adjuvet et sancta
Dei evangelia- The consecrator then addresses himself in a
loud voice to all the people assembled, Vultis tali principi et
rectori eos subjicere, ipsiusque regnum firmare, fidi stabilire, atque
jussionibus illius obtemperare, juxla apostdum : omnis anima
potestatibus sublimioribus subdita sit, sive, regi tanquam pree-
cellenti ? to which the whole congregation answer, Fiat !
Fiat ! Fiat ! The emperor then retires from the altar, and
kneels upon the lowest step, upon which the consecrator stand-
ing over him gives the blessing, Benedic Domine ! hunc regem
nostrum, &c. After which the emperor is prepared to receive
the holy unction. The ambassadors and the hereditary grand
chamberlain of the empire, assisted by the master of the robes
and royal chamberlains, undress his majesty as far as is neces-
sary for the ceremony of anointing him. The consecrator,
then, holding the vessel in his hand, says, Par tibi, Resp. Et
cum spiritu tuo. The emperor is then anointed and signed
with the cross, first on the top of his head, on the breast, and
between the shoulders ; and then on the right arm between the
hand and the elbow; the consecrator saying, each time of pouring
the oil, Ungo te in regem de oleo sanctificato, in nomine Palris, +
et Filii, + et Spiritus Sancti. + Amen. During this ceremony the
Antiphone, Unxerunt Salomonem Zadoc sacerdos, et Nathan, pro-
pheta in Zion et ambulantes Iceti dixerunt. Vivat in eeternum !
Alleluia is sung to music by the whole choir. As the elector
anoints the palm of the emperor's hand, he says, Ungantur
manus istee de oleo sanclificato, inde unclifuerunt reges et pro-
phets et sicut Samuel David in regem, ut sis benedictus et con-
stitutus rex in regno isto super populum islum, quern Dominus
Deus tuns dedit tibi ad recendum et gubernandum, quod ipse
preestare dignetur, qui vivit et regnat Deus in secula seculorum.
The choir then sing, Unxit te Deus olei Icetitice prte consorti-
bus tuis.

After the ceremony, the emperor is conducted by the elec-
tors, their first and second ministers, attended by the bishops
and abbots, and the hereditary officers bearing the insignia
before him, to the electoral chapel, where he puts on the im-
perial pontificals, the sandals, buskins, Dalmatic robe, and
mantle, which are presented to him by the deputies from Nu-
T 4

280 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

remburg ; and over them a long robe from the shoulders over
the breast, like the dress worn by the priests. Thus habited,
he is conducted again before the altar, and the others take
their places. He then kneels upon the last step, and behind
him stand the secular ejectors, repeating the responses to the
customary prayers. The electors of Troves and Cologne take
the sword of Charlemagne from the altar, draw it, and present
it to the emperor, upon which the elector of Mentz addresses
.iim as follows : — Recipe gladium per manus episcoporum licet
indignas vice tamen et auctoritate sanctorum apostolorum con-
secratas tibi regulariter concessum nostrceque benedictionis officium
defensiowm sancta Dei ecclesiee divinitus ordinatum ; esto memor,
de quo Psalmista prophetavit, diceus acdngere gladiotu super
femur, tuum potentissime, &c. Resp. Amen. Acdngere gladio
tuo, his majesty gives the sword to the elector of Saxony, who
puts in his scabbard, and with the assistance of Bohemia and
Bavaria, girds it on him. A ring is then presented to the
elector of Mentz, who puts it on the emperor's finger, with
these words, — Accipe regia dignitatis annulum, et per hoc
catholicez fidei cognosce signaculum. Resp. Amen. The sceptre
and globe are taken in the same manner from the altar, and
delivered in the same manner to the consecrating elector, who
gives the former into the emperor's right hand, and the latter
into his left, repeating the words, Accipe virgam virtutis et ve~
ritatis, &c. Resp. Amen. After which the emperor returns
them to their proper officers. The elector of Saxony, or his
first minister, then draws the sword of Charlemagne from its
scabbard again, and delivers it to the hereditary grand mare-
schal instead of the sword of St. Maurice. The emperor is
robed in his rich imperial mantle or pluvial by the hereditary
chamberlain ; after which the consecrating elector, and the
electors of Treves and Cologne, jointly assist in placing' the
royal crown upon his head, and the consecrator addresses him
in the following words : — Accipe coronam regni, quee licet ab
indignis episcoporum tamen manibus capiti tuo imponitur. In
nomine Patris + , et FUii + et Spiritus + Sancti, quam sanctitatis,
gloriam et honorem et opus fortitudinis significare intelligas, et
per hanc te participem ministerii nostri non ignores ; ila ut sicut
nos in interioribus pastores rectoresque animarum intelligitur,
ita et tu in exterioribus verus Dei cultor, strenuusque contra
omnes adversitates ecclesiis Cliristi defensor, exismas, regnique
tibi a Deo dati, et per officium nostrte benedictionis in vice apos-
tnlorum, omniumque sanctorum regimi tuo comissi utilis exe-
cutor, et regnator semper appareas, ut inter gloriosus athletas
virtutum gennuis ornatus et premio sempiterntz f elicit atis coro-
natus, cum Redemptore ac Salvatore nostro Jesu Cliristo, cujus

APPENDIX. 281

nomen vicemque gerere crederis, sine Jine glorieris, qvi vivit, &c.
Resp. Amen. When the coronation is over, his imperial
majesty is conducted to the altar by the electors of Treves
and Cologne, and takes the following oath, first in Latin,
and afterwards in German, laying his hand upon the Holy
Gospel.

" I promise and vow, in the presence of God and his angels,
that I will now and ever obey the laws, do justice, and pre-
serve the peace of the holy church of God. I will study the
welfare of the people subject to me, and endeavour to procure
and do them justice. I will promote the welfare and maintain
the rights of the empire, with due consideration of the Divine
mercy, in the best manner I am able, with the advice of the
princes who are faithful to the empire and myself; I will duly
honour the most holy bishop of Rome, thej Romish church,
and the other bishops and servants of God ; and protect, and
preserve uninjured, whatever the church has been endowed
with, and what has been given to holy men by emperors and
kings ; and will show due honour to the prelates, states, and
vassals of the empire ; the Lord Jesus Christ assisting me
with strength and grace." The emperor is then conducted
with the same forms to his seat, the kettle-drums are beat again,
and the trumpets sounded. While the mass is continued, and
the Gospel chanted, the elector of Treves presents the book
with the golden letters for his majesty to kiss, and the elector
of Cologne gives the incense. While the Creed and Offertory
are chanting, the emperor, bearing the sceptre and globe in his
hands, which he afterwards delivers to the proper officers, ap-
proaches the altar, and makes the accustomed offering ; after
which he returns to his seat, and receives the incense from the
elector of Treves — Before the holy sacrament is administered,
the two spiritual electors take the crown from his majesty's
head, and place it on a cushion, to be held by the hereditary
treasurer of the empire.

At the elevation of the host, the elector of Treves brings
the paten for the emperor to kiss, and Cologne presents him
with the holy water. As soon as the consecrating elector has
received the sacrament himself, his majesty is conducted to the
altar, where he receives the consecrated wafer from, the elector
and the wine from his cup. The elector then, after the usual
prayers, solemnly pronounces the blessing ; and the assisting
clergy make the responses. When the emperor is returned to
his seat, the crown is placed, with the same ceremony, upon his
head again. This ceremony concludes the mass ; upon which
the emperor, attended by the electors, and all the high officers
of the empire, is conducted to a throne erected for the purpose,

282 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

instead of the chair of Charlemagne at Aix-la-Chapelle, and
the attendants take their respective stalls. The elector of
Mentz addresses himself to him in these words : — Sta et
retine a modo locum regium, quern nonjure hereditario. nee pa~
terno successione, sed principum electorum in regno Alemaniee
tibi noscas delatum, maxime per auctoritatem Dei omnipotentis,
et traditionem prtesentium, et omnium episcoporum ceeterorum-
que servorum Dei, &c. Then standing before the throne, he
congratulates his imperial majesty in the name of all the
electoral college; for which the emperor graciously thanks
him ; and the elector, turning towards the altar, begins the
Ambrosian Hymn, which is instantly struck up by the whole
band in full chorus, the bells ringing, canon firing, kettle-
drums beating, and trumpets sounding from every quarter,
amidst the general acclamations of the people. In the' mean
time, the spiritual electors retire to the sacristy, and change
their priestly for their electoral robes.

The emperor, being seated on his throne, is presented with
the sword of Charlemagne, and while the Te Deum is per-
formed, confers the honour of knighthood on several counts
and nobles, dressed in the full habit of chivalry, as was cus-
tomary in the time of the ancient tournaments. Those who
are to receive this honour, have their names given in, the day
preceding, to the elector of Mentz, who sends them to the
vice-chancellor of the empire. They are then summoned to
appear by the captain of the guards ; and those who answer to
their names are presented to his imperial majesty, and kneel
with due reverence before the throne, after which they re-
ceive the honour of knighthood. Immediately after this
ceremony, the deacon, and singers of the royal foundation
at Aix-la-Chapelle, attend, and humbly represent to the
emperor, that it is customary for every king of the Romans,
immediately after his coronation, to be admitted canon of their
order, and take the usual oaths ; which his majesty complies
with in these words, laying his hand upon the Holy Gospel :
Nos N. dlvini favente dementia Romanorum rex, ecdesus
nostree B. Maria Aquisgranensis canonicus, promittimus, et
ad heec sancta Dei evangelia juramus eidem ecclesice Jitlelitntem,
et quod ipsam jura, bonn et personns ejusdem ab injuriis et
violenms defemabimus, et faciemus defensari, ejusque privUegia
omnia et singula et consuetudines ratificamus, approbamus, et de
novo confirmamus.

The electors of Treves and Cologne having changed their
robes and returned to his majesty, the procession commences,
during which the bells continue ringing, and cannon firing.
The emperor proceeds, first adorned with his imperial crown,

APPENDIX. 283

and robes of state, upon a platform prepared on the oc-
casion from the cathedral to the senate-house, which is
covered with black, white, and yellow cloth. The in-
signia, including the crown of the emperor's house, are
carried as before ; and the spiritual electors, with their re-
spective trains, join the procession. The trumpets and
kettle-drums go before the nobles and ministers the whole time ;
after them the heralds, the hereditary grand mareschal of the
court of Mentz with his sword inverted, and the seals carried
upon a silver staff. Then the elector of Treves alone, and the
insignia borne by the proper officers ; after them the emperor,
with the spiritual electors of Mentz on the right and Cologne
on the left, bearing his train. Then the secular electors, two
and two. The electors are all covered ; but all the other
officers, and the whole procession besides, uncovered. The
emperor's halberdiers and guards walk on each side, and the
electoral guards close the procession ; at the conclusion of
which ceremony, the platform, cloth, &c. are given to the
populace. Before the emperor sits down to the banquet pre-
pared for him in the senate-house, it is customary for him to
appear with the electors at the window, and see the ceremonies
performed by the hereditary grand officers as they are pre-
scribed by the Golden Bull. First the hereditary grand mar£-
schal of the empire mounts his horse, which is richly caparisoned,
and rides into the middle of a heap of oats laid in the square
before the senate-house on the occasion, attended by kettle-
drums and trumpets. Having filled a silver measure full, and
made the oats even with a silver instrument, he shakes them
out again, returns to the hall, and the oats become the property
of the populace. The hereditary arch-sewer mounts a ca-
parisoned horse in the same manner, rides to a table covered
with a fine linen cloth, takes from it a silver basin, ewer, and a
napkin ; dismounts again at the senate-house, and carries them,
to the emperor. After him the hereditary grand chamberlain
rides in the same manner, with the same number of attendants,
to a fire made in the square, where there is an ox roasting,
from which he takes a piece, and carries it in a silver plate
covered to the emperor's table. The hereditary arch-cup-
bearer likewise rides to a table covered with a white cloth, on
which there is a silver cup, weighing twelve marks, filled with
wine and water ; he takes the cup, dismounts at the senate-
house, and presents it to the emperor : and at last the here-
ditary arch-treasurer rides, with the same ceremonies, and
with kettle-drums and trumpets, into the middle of the po-
pulace, bearing a purse of gold and silver coins, which he
throws among the people, and returns. A fountain with a

284 HISTORY OF Tin: GERMANIC EMPIRE.

double eagle displayed on the top, ejects white and red wine,
and white bread is thrown among the people. When these
ceremonies are over, his imperial majesty retires from the hall
till dinner is served up ; when he is conducted by the electors
and imperial officers, bearing the insignia before him in due
form, to his seat At table, the crown is taken from his head
by the hereditary grand sewer. The hereditary arch-chamber-
lain presents the water and the napkin. The spiritual electors
then, standing before the emperor's table, which is raised two
steps higher than the rest — Mentz in the middle, Treveson the
right, and Cologne on the left, — the former says grace, and the
two others make the responses. All three of them then take
the silver staff with the seals, and bear them upright before bis
majesty. The elector of Mentz, as chancellor of the empire,
takes the seals off, and lays them on the table ; upon which his
majesty presents them again to him ; and as soon as his
highness has received them, he hangs them on his neck, and
takes his place at a separate table, and the other electors at
theirs. A table is likewise provided in the same hall where
the emperor dines, for the princes, who are attended by officers
of state. When dinner is served up, the emperor's dishes
are brought in by the counts of the empire, preceded by
heralds and guards, and the hereditary mar£schal with his staff
of office except the first dish, which is brought in by the here-
ditary arch-sewer. The elector of Mentz is waited upon in
the same manner by his own officers, and the mareschal of his
own court with his wand. The prince of Hesse- Darmstadt
carves for his imperial majesty, and the hereditary cup-bearer
of the empire presents the cup. Such of the electors as assist
at the ceremony in person, sit at their own tables, and are
attended by the officers of their courts ; but those who are re-
presented, have only tables covered for them, at which the am-
bassadors do not sit. After dinner, the hereditary chamberlain
places the basin upon the table for his majesty to wash, which
he does sitting ; and when he has finished, the whole company
rises, and the elector of Mentz returns thanks, to which the
other spiritual electors make the usual responses. The here-
ditary cup-bearer then replaces the emperor's crown upon his
head, and, assisted by the counts in waiting, draws back the
emperor's seat, when they withdraw into another apartment.
Soon after dinner, the emperor is conducted, with the usual
ceremonies, to his residence ; he and the electors in their car-
riages of state, and the imperial hereditary officers bearing the
insignia on horseback, attended by the pages and servants in
livery, with flambeaux. As soon as his imperial majesty is

APPENDIX. 285

arrived, the electors attend him to his own apartment, and
having formally taken leave, return to their different quarters
in the town.

A few days after the coronation, the seals of the empire
are given in custody to the vice-chancellor ; and the silver
staff becomes his property : the silver utensils likewise, as the
laver, the ewer, measure, cup, and dish, are presented to the
hereditary officers who performed the different functions as
ordered by the Golden Bull. — ( From Putter's Historical
Developement, vol. iii. )

APPENDIX (B).

TEUTONIC LEGAL ANTIQUITIES.

(Foreign Quarterly Review, No. XVII.)

DR. JACOB GRIMM is one of the most distinguished philosophi-
cal and speculative German archaeologists in this archaeological
age. He has, in conjunction with his brothers, and in common
with F. H. von der Hagen, and others of less note, collected
and published abundance of old national legends, of popular tra-
ditions, of nursery tales, of old German poetry, and historical
and critical information respecting that poetry, of which more
upon some future occasion. He has concocted a grammar of
the same comprehensive character as the Legal Antiquities,
including under the appellation Deutsch (which for this purpose
we translate Teutonic), all nations of German or Teutonic race.
This grammar is singularly philosophical, and indeed in every
respect so extraordinary, that, unpromising as a grammar seems
for reviewing, we have long been desirous of placing some
account of it before our readers, and trust that our desire may
shortly be gratified. Our worthy doctor, thus various, but ever
archaeological and national in his pursuits, has now, partly as we
have said to recreate himself after his grammatical toils, and
partly to exhibit a new mode of treating Legal Antiquities,
produced the work before us ; a work, which, he says, would
have been more easily and fully accomplished some hundreds of
years ago, the unpicturesque and unpoetical seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries having done their best to get rid of what
the supercilious wisdom of those ages deemed the silliness of
rude times. But, as German views are always characteristic,
we must give Grimm's in his own words.

" The historical jurist explains the new by the history 6f

286 BISTORT OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

the old ; the antiquary the old by the old, and only collaterally
by the new. The former neglects what is quite antiquated, the
latter what is quite new. The former is obliged to adapt the
old to the system of modern legislation ; the latter is disposed to
let the multiform appearances of the old rest upon their broader
and freer basis. Of yore all was more sensibly unfolded ; of late
all is more intellectually condensed. Here, it is essential to weigh,
to ground, and to develope ; there, merely to collect and to detail.
Under such circumstances it appeared to me rather a hazardous
than an unprofitable task for one not of the legal profession to
undertake, withoutany reference to practice and the system of the
day, a faithful and complete collection of all accessible materials
for an elementary History of German Law. The advantage
would be infinitely greater could I attract the attention, not of
jurists only, but of those explorers of antiquity who have devoted
their labours to the language, poetry, and history of our fore-
fathers. I herewith deliver a first attempt at a work of this de-
scription, which may well be said to contain more oil than salt.
* * * # *

" Let us dive into the deeper antiquities of German law.* *
They are more peculiarly German than anything else, though
I shall point out scattered traces of them amongst some ancient
and some modern nations. Their fundamental character is
the establishment of the legal by the sensible ; the consecration of
what is to be permanent by something unsettled, something that
cannot be wholly withdrawn from the dominion of chance."

Having thus allowed Grimm to explain his views, in terms
that will, perhaps, be better understood by and by, we may
add our own statement, that in collecting these voluminous
relics of Teutonic Antiquity, he is actuated by an intensely
patriotic desire ; first, to display the poetical and picturesque
character of his German forefathers ; secondly, to clear them
from the imputation of barbarism, by showing them to have
been not a whit more barbarous than the Greeks and Romans;
and lastly, to soften the existing antipathy to feudalism.

The first, and to us the most interesting of these objects,
appears even in his introduction, wherein he identifies legal tau-
tology with that proper to the epic poetry of early times, which
employed repetition as indispensable to energy of language.
Grimm gives many, and often identical, examples from old
laws and old poems ; adding some few from Homer. Teutonic
tautology, both legal and poetic, was usually enhanced either
by rhyme or by alliteration, a favourite ornament of Teutonic
poetry, and in Scandinavian the common substitute for rhyme.
The same character of early epic, i. e. the giving force in simple
ways, is marked in the ever-recurring legal formulae, and in such

APPENDIX. 287

constantly attached epithets as "bright day," "dark night," "salt
or wild sea," " shining gold," " white silver," " green grass, "&c.
The poetical mode of establishing legal distinctions by what
is palpable to the senses, appears more manifestly in the mark-
ing of times and seasons by the going out of the cows to pasture,
or their coming home to be milked, by the crowing of the cock,
the sinking of the sun in gold, &c. &c., in the taking of all
measures from the human person, even the size of a caldron,
which is ascertained by the age of the child that could be bathed
in it. But the use of the human form as a standard was not
peculiar to the old Germans, though in various ways they carried
it further than any other people with whom we are acquainted.
For instance, relationship was measured or described by the
limbs or parts of the human body, nearest to, or farthest from
the head ; the most distant cousins acknowledged as such
being called nail-kinsmen. Some of the analogous modes o*
assessing damages are however quite their own. For instance,
he who killed another man's dog, was to hang the slain animal
up by the tail, with the nose just touching the ground, and then
to cover him with wheat, so that not a hair could be seen; and
this heap of wheat was the compensation due to the owner.*

We find the same character in the ascertainment of property
and privilege, by some act of the claimant, performed with
some implement or symbol of his profession. For this purpose
knights and nobles hurled the spear, or some other weapon, and
if the archbishop of Mentz, or the count of Nassau, riding in
complete armour into the Rhine as far as they could find footing
for their equally armed steeds, marked the extent of their do-
minion over the river by flinging a sledge hammer, such hammer
was not so anomalous as at first sight it appears to their rank,
or even to the ecclesiastical profession. Grimm considers this
use of the hammer as a proof that the custom prevailed prior to
the existence of written law amongst the northern nations, and
to their conversion to Christianity. A hammer, somewhat
resembling, perhaps, what was afterwards termed a mace, was
in those early days a martial weapon. It was especially that
of the god Thor, and was esteemed so peculiarly holy as to be
the regular sign of consecration. Thus in the hands of the
count of Nassau it was an instrument of war ; in those of the
archbishop, traditionally perhaps, one of religion, though the
circumstance of his being clad in armour might seem to imply
its being at most a holy weapon. The reader will remember

* The Asa gods themselves are represented as amenable to this law.
Having killed a sort of man-otter, they were required by the human father
of the slain to cover the dead body with gold ; and a long series of calamities
originated in the difficulty of procuring the necessary quantity of that metal
for covering it to the last hair.

288 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

that, during the dark and middle ages, man did not forfeit the
pleasures of fighting by becoming the minister of a God of
peace and mercy. A shepherd might drive his flock so far into
a forest, (the property of the hamlet? or of the lord?) as that,
standing beyond the head of the foremost sheep, he could fling
his crook out of the wood ; and the woodman might cut wood
as far as he could fling his axe. Grimm observes, that this
mode of admeasurement by throwing a spear or a stone is found
in Homer, but that there are no traces of any thing of the kind
in the laws of the Greeks or the Romans, and he quotes Per-
sian and Hindoo tales of land thus acquired : they belong,
however, to poetry. In the Welsh law he discovers a similar
spirit ; and, indeed, we suspect that a considerable degree of
resemblance in many respects existed between the Germans and
their Celtic neighbours in Southern Germany, Gaul, and in
Britain. Before leaving'this subject of admeasurement, we should
state, that the smallest possible extent of mother earth's surface,
the possession of which constituted a landed proprietor, was
ascertained by a custom, not proper to any trade or profession,
but to human nature. " The space must be so large that the
owner may thereupon set a cradle containing an infant, and a
stool for a maid to rock it." From descriptions in other places
and upon other occasions, we suspect that this stool had only
three legs.

Some doubt may arise in the breast of a sceptical reader,
whether this determining of the certain by the uncertain, fan-
cifully poetical as it appears to us, might not, when devised, be
a very straightforward proceeding — the best substitute for
maps, plans, and written deeds. Indisputably it sprang from
the want of such documents ; but the arbitrary selection, in the
last-mentioned instance, of one of the tenderest offices of hu-
manity— the care of babyhood — satisfies us that the old Ger-
mans were as conscious as ourselves of the play of feeling and
imagination marking their laws and customs.

We now turn to another point of this poetical legislation,
namely, the embodying legal abstractions, or subjecting them to
the evidence of the senses. We approach it with some hesita-
tion, because the distinction between the endeavour to render
sensible, and the use of symbols, seems to require a longer dis-
quisition than we have room for, were it suited to our present
purpose. It may, however, suffice to say, that we conceive the
first — the rendering sensible — to belong to the earliest state
of society, and gradually to assume the symbolical character as
a nation advances in civilisation. At all events, this appears to
have been the course of things in Germany. When possession
of land was given by a clod of earth from the ploughed field, a

APPENDIX. 289

turf from the meadow, a branch of a forest tree from the wood,
and of a fruit tree or vine from the orchard or vineyard to be
delivered, these acts, although considered as partly symbolical
even by Grimm, appear to us, at least in the earlier times, sim-
ply modes of rendering the delivery evident and sensible, with-
out troubling the court of justice, consisting of, or attended by,
half the population of the district, to perambulate the domain
about to be transferred ; and in those days almost every transac-
tion, certainly every transfer of property, required the sanction
of a court of justice, or at the least, of numerous witnesses. The
similar use made by the Romans of turf, &c. we apprehend to
have been purely symbolical, inasmuch as a turf cut from the
nearest grass plot, we believe, delivered an estate in Asia. So
was amongst the Germans the straw, when a straw picked up
in the road supplied the place of the turf, &c. It was mani-
festly a mere abstract idea, not being like the other things ne-
cessarily a part of the property delivered, but gathered any-
where. Moreover the very word stipulatio seems to indicate
its Latin origin ; and as its instrumentality in delivering posses-
sion is found only amongst the Franks, or the countries that
once owned their authority, it is not unlikely that they might
adopt it from their Roman subjects. But the mode of employ-
ing it became more picturesque under the influence of German
imagination. A man who wished to transfer or bequeath an
estate to a person not of his blood, flung a straw into the bosom
of him to be endowed, or into that of the lord who gave it over
to him ; the straw was thenceforward carefully preserved as a
voucher for the transaction. A straw was otherwise often sym-
bolically used. Breaking a straw was a form of engagement as
solemn and irrevocable, we believe, as the striking hands, which
bears a peculiar name in almost every Teutonic language, and
is still practised among the lower orders in Germany as it is in
England. * Equally symbolical was the use of straw, when a
man living alone, if attacked by night, took three straws from
his roof, in addition to his cat and dog, to attest the outrage.
Taking possession of a house by opening and shutting the door,
was surely the mere exercise of an act of possession before wit-
nesses, although the door posts certainly did possess a peculiar
sanctity.

Amongst various fanciful forms of transacting business which
appear to blend the two characters, some few are worth men-
tioning. The adoption of a son was effected in Lombardy by
the adopter's trimming, for the first time, the beard of the

* Schiller, in his Wilhelm Tell, says, " Des Bauern Handschlag 1st ein
Manneswort," which, may be Englished, "The peasant's hand-strike
pledges a man's word."

VOL. III. U

290 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

adopted ; in Scandinavia, by his giving him his shoe to put
on.* This form seems to have implied a recognition of the
shoe-proprietor's authority ; and, as such, was required from a
bride, who completed the marriage ceremony by putting on the
bridegroom's shoe. Natural children, to be legitimated by the
subsequent wedlock of their parents, were placed under the
mother's mantle during the marriage ceremony. Taking the
keys from a wife was equivalent to a divorce ; and a widow
freed herself from her deceased husband's debts by throwing
her keys into his grave, which was a virtual abandonment of
her claims upon his property. A silken thread formed an
inviolable enclosure. Knights enforced an oath by striking
their swords into the earth. When two Scandinavians wished
to swear brotherhood, a long strip of turf was raised, supported
by a spear in the middle, and resting upon the ground at both
ends : under this turf the intended brothers suffered their blood,
drawn from wounds in the palm of the hand or the sole of the
foot, to mingle ; and they further mixed the blended stream
with earth. They then knelt down beside or under the turf,
and invoked the gods to attest their oath to avenge each other's
death like brothers. Accused persons occasionally swore to
their innocence with a similar form ; it was called going under
the earth, and esteemed peculiarly solemn.

This mixing of blood is one of the points upon which our
learned and patriotic antiquary is most earnest to clear the old
Germans of any extraordinary barbarity ; for which purpose
he quotes Greek and Latin authors to show that similar, and
yet more savage practices, such as drinking each other's blood,
were common amongst other nations. But as most of his
extracts, those especially from Herodotus and Lucian, refer to
the Scythians, we doubt the Classicistes being much moved
thereby in favour of the old Germans. In fact, a very peculiar
combination of seemingly incongruous inhumanity and tender-
ness marked, as we shall have occasion to show in the course of
this article, the character of the early Germans or Teutones ;
and we incline to think that the incongruity will vanish if we
duly consider th» deeply imaginative tone of their minds, the
real tenderness of their hearts, their actually extravagant valour,
enhanced by their religious creed, and the utter worthlessness
'of life in their eyes, save as it might be employed in acquiring
glory.

We entirely lose sight of symbols, and return to the senses,
and the act of the party most concerned, in the custom of giving
land in quantities measured by the receiver's riding, driving, or
crawling, over or round it, during some determinate period of

* Is this the origin of the phrase " standing in his shoes ? "

APPENDIX. 2yl

time, as whilst the royal donor bathed, or took his after-dinner
nap. This custom was not however peculiar to the Germans.
We find grants almost literally similar in Herodotus, in Livy,
and in Oriental history or fable ; and, in spirit, they resemble
Dido's purchase of the land a bull's hide would cover, which
indeed was often literally copied by German candidates for
real property. But, if not Teutonic in its origin, the practice
became so by the more vivid and picturesque form which, like
all proceedings borrowed from the south, it assumed amidst the
imaginative Northmen and Germans. ' It went out of fashion,
we presume, from the constant cheating to which it seems to
have given birth. Even saints appear to_have found the tempt-
ation irresistible, and consequently endowed jackasses upon
such occasions witli a fleetness surpassing the best-bred racers.
If saints proved thus trickish, shall we wonder at the frailty of
a hero's virtue ? A prince of one of the most heroic families
in Germany, the Guelphs, and consequently an ancestor of the
sovereign of the British isles, having obtained from the emperor
Lewis the grant of as much land as he could either plough with
a golden plough, or drive a golden waggon round, it is not
clear which, during his imperial majesty's noontide slumber,
fairly, or rather unfairly, put a golden toy-waggon or plough
into his pocket, and rode full gallop, with, if we recollect
rightly, relays of horses.

This mode of granting land originated, we conceive, in the
ordinary form of taking possession of domains, whether inhe-
- rited or otherwise acquired, by riding over them. Even kings
were frequently bound thus to ride round or over their king-
doms*, after having, upon their succession or election, (they
commonly united both rights,) been lifted on high upon a
shield, and thus exhibited to their people for their approbation
or homage — a practice, by the way, borrowed from the Ger-
mans by the Romans, when their armies came to consist prin-
cipally of Germans. We first read of it upon Julian's proclam-
ation as emperor at Paris, A. D. 360, when Ammianus
Marcellinus says, " Julian was placed upon a foot soldier's
shield, raised on high, and unanimously proclaimed Augustus."
Is the chairing of members of parliament upon their election a
relic of this ancient usage ?

But we must return to German forms of taking possession,
some of which are curious. The number of persons and animals
to be employed in the ride was specified. The lord was to
ride, sometimes himself seventh, with six horses and a half —
the half being a mule ; sometimes with six mouths and a half,

* In old Swedish law this was called riding eriksgata ; gata meaning
road or street.

u 2

292 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

when the party consisted of himself, two attendants, three
horses, and a dog; and the quantity and quality of entertain-
ment lie was entitled to claim from his vassals upon these occa-
sions was appointed with equal care, and was occasionally con-
fined to bread, cheese, and wine, upon a clean table cloth. If
he required more, he had to pay for it. The horses, however,
•were always amply provided for, being ordered to be placed up
to the belly in oats. Sometimes horses and dogs were to be
one-eyed, or even a one-eyed deputy was to be substituted for
the lord. In other places animals and men's clothes were to be
•white ; a more intelligible regulation, inasmuch as white was a
holy colour amongst the Teutonic heathens ; and we observe
that it did not quite forfeit its sanctity upon the introduction of
Christianity, from the marvellous favour shown to a white
sow, who, if lucky enough to produce a whole litter spotlessly
white as herself, was permitted, it should seem, to ravage the
corn fields within her reach at her own discretion. But the
most singular and solemn form of entering into possession and
receiving homage recorded, is that enjoined to the dukes of
Carinthia. We translate, with a little compression, Grimm's
account of it.

" The principle upon which this form proceeded was, that
every new duke must take his lands and privileges as by pur-
chase from the people, and their representative — a free peasant.
Whenever, therefore, a new duke is to receive the homage
hereditarily due to him, a peasant of the race of the Edlinger
places himself upon the marble ducal seat at Zollfeld. Round
about this seat, but without the barriers, as far as eye can reach,
throng the country people, awaiting the new duke. This latter
personage, in the rude garb of a Sclavonian peasant, with a
hunter's wallet containing bread, cheese, and agricultural im-
plements, (small ones, we hope,) carrying a crook in his hand,
and having a black steer and a lean cart-horse on either side,
approaches the marble seat, led by two noblemen of the pro-
vince, and followed by all the rest of the nobility and chivalry
in the most splendid festal array, with the flags and banners of
the duchy. As soon as the procession comes near enough for
the peasant to discover the prince, he asks in the Sclavonian
dialect spoken in Carinthia, ' Who comes hither in such state?'
The crowd answer, « The prince of the country." The peasant
resumes, ' Is he a just judge ? Does the good of the country
touch his heart? Is he of free and Christian birth?' An
unanimous shout of ' He is ! he will be ! ' resounds from the
assembled multitude. ' Then, I ask, by what right he will
remove me from this seat?' again questions the peasant, and
the count of Gorz replies, ' He will buy it of thee for sixty

APPENDIX. 293

pence. These draught cattle shall be thine, as well as the
prince's clothes ; thy house shall be free, and thou shalt pay
neither tithe nor rent.' The peasant now gives the prince a
slight box on the ear, admonishes him to be just, and, descend-
ing from the marble seat, takes possession .of the horse and
steer. The new duke ascends the vacated throne, and swing-
ing his drawn sword in every direction, promises right and
justice to the people; after which, in proof of his moderation,
he takes a draught of water out of his hat. The procession
then goes to St. Peter's church to hear mass. The duke
exchanges his rustic dress for princely attire, and holds a mag-
nificent banquet with his knights and nobles. After dinner the
company repair to the side of a hill, where stands a seat divided
into two by a partition wall. The duke sits on the side front-
ing the east, and swears, bare-headed and with uplifted fingers,
to maintain the laws and rights of the duchy. Thereupon he
receives the homage, the oaths of allegiance of his vassals, and
grants the investiture of fiefs. On the opposite side sits the
count of Gb'rz, and grants the fiefs depending mediately upon
him, as hereditary count-palatine of Carinthia. So long as the
duke sits upon this seat granting fiefs, it is the prescriptive
privilege of the race of Gradneckers to appropriate to them-
selves as much grass as they can mow, unless it be ransomed by
the owners ; whilst robbers enjoy the yet more marvellous
right of robbing, and the Portendbrfers, and after their extinc-
tion the Mordaxters, that of burning the property of whosoever
will not compound with them (by the payment of blackmail).
These extraordinary ceremonies were observed at every acces-
sion of a duke of Carinthia during the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries: in the fifteenth they disappear."

Of course we do not propose here to enter into an investiga-
tion of the whole character and nature of the feudal system — to
do so would require volumes — but we have said that Grimm
regards it with an eye of favour ; and as he differs in this from
almost, if not quite, all his philosophic contemporaries of the
Continent, and far exceeds even our own candid and truly
philosophic countryman, the historian of the Middle Ages, we
deem it incumbent upon us to select some statements illus-
trative of his views respecting that curiously interwoven chain
of interminable dependence and superiority in vassalage, which,
however revolting to the enlightened love of liberty of the nine-
teenth century, had in it something venerably patriarchal, equally
touching to the affections and the imagination of a more
poetical, if less logical and less sentimental age, and still fasci-
nating to all lovers of romance. The degradation of villenage
u 3

294 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

is the dark side of feudalism : it is essential, therefore, to the
justification of our respected doctor's feudal prepossessions to
show that, in his opinion, even this was softened by the
patriarchal spirit of the system, at least in early times, the laws
being calculated, as well as the rude simplicity of their framers
allowed, to protect the inferior against oppression by any arbi-
trary extension of authority, and to afford him every fair and
reasonable indulgence.

That the unfree, as Dr. Grimm tenderly terms the whole of
the inferior classes collectively, were cruelly and unreasonably
degraded, is undeniable. The very appellation of the letter class
of villeins, litus, Grimm believes to have been vituperative, as
derived from the adjective "lazy," which is lots in Gothic, laet in
Anglo-Saxon, and latr in old Norse. He, nevertheless, gives, as
the fynonyme of litus, the Lombard word aldius, which is evi-
dently the same with the Spanish aldeano, villager, from aldea,
village, and all assuredly of Gothic origin, though the very scanty
specimens we possess of the Gothic language may not enable us
to point out the parent word. Other denominations of the
unfree imply obedience and subjection — but one — miindling —
is just what it should be, really meaning protegt. The unfree
(lazy knaves and proteges alike) were distinguished from the
free by their names, or rather their want of family names, by
the colour and shape of their clothes, and by the cutting of
their hair. The long hair, which was the distinctive charac-
teristic of the Merovingian kings, seems at one time or other
to have been common to all nobles, if not to all freemen, as
there are laws of several old nations extant against cropping
long-haired children without their parent's consent; and against
letting the hair of the unfree of either sex grow. In fact, the
long hair of the higher ranks seems to have been held in almost
equal honour with the beard -. a woman swore, if not by her
tresses, yet holding them in her left hand, whilst her right was
laid upon her bosom ; and some of the old Scandinavian
legends record the anxiety of heroes at the block to preserve
their hair from being soiled with blood by their decapitation.
Further, the unfree had no wergelt, or fixed damages for their
murder * ; but their lives were not therefore unprotected,
except against their master. He, their master, claimed their
value from a murderer as he would that of a horse. In like
manner he paid all fines they incurred, just as he paid for any
mischief done by his cattle. The unfree were forbidden to

* Grimm considers tuergeld as literally the price of, or satisfaction for, a
man, from the old Norse gialda, to pay or compensate, and u<er or verr, one
of the many old words for man. Whence this curious coincidence with the
Latin tiir ?

APPENDIX. 295

carry arms ; yet in some laws a military litus is spoken of,
and we learn from Mannert that some portion of the unfree
household of noblemen, termed pueri, carried arms while escort-
ing their lords upon journeys.* It is not improbable that the
strictness of the prohibition was gradually relaxed when the
free began to regard military service as burdensome, and that
when the nobles aimed at nearly independent power, they
sought to increase the force upon which they relied, by unlaw-
fully arming their thralls.

This promotion of the unfree was the easier, inasmuch as Eu-
ropean villenage was wholly exempt from the loathsome baseness
of Oriental slavery, the servile duties required by indolence,
luxury, or wantonness, being altogether repugnant to the cha
racter and habits of Teutonic lords. The services usually re-
quired of the unfree were menial attendance (which could
hardly be esteemed dishonourable whilst its higher offices
were discharged by young ladies and gentlemen), assistance in
the sports of the field, and the cultivation of the land. These
•were rewarded with food, drink, sometimes with various small
privileges, and were occasionally cheered with music. The
natural result of this intercourse of protection and dependence,
was to generate a peculiar intimacy and affection between the
proud noble and his thralls. Some of the services by which
the unfree cultivators held their land, seem to have been insti-
tuted either for this express purpose, or in joke. In some
parts of Germany and northern France, the peasantry were
assembled upon certain occasions, as the lying-in of their
lady, to beat the water in the ponds and ditches, in order to
silence the frogs. The peasants upon the lands of one monas-
tery were bound to carry a boiled capon into the refectory at
meal time, and uncover it, so that all the monks might enjoy
a share of the steam and fragrance ; they might then take it
away to dispose of it at their own pleasure. The steward of
one lordship, when he received the rent or tribute due, was
bound to give the bringers a sum of money to drink, upon
condition that they returned home by an appointed hour, and
he himself was fined a ton of fresh herrings for every penny
which he did not forward to his lord by an equally appointed
hour. But the most amusing payment of rent we have met
with we give in Grimm's own words : —

" The village of Salzdorf, in the territories of Hesse, was
bound to pay the sum of ninepence to the baron of Buchenau
on St. Walburg's day (May-day). The bearer, who was called
the Walpertsmannikin, was bound to be seated upon a specified

* See No. XIII. p. 179.

u 4

296 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

stone of the bridge before Buchenau Castle, at six o'clock in
the morning of May-day. If he was behind his time, the sum
to be paid increased progressively, and at so rapid a rate, that
by evening the whole community of Salzdorf would have been
unable to discharge it. The Walpertsmannikin was, therefore,
always accompanied by two comrades, to guard against acci-
dents. But if the appointed hour found him at his post, he
was abundantly feasted by the baron ; and if he could keep
wide awake through such feasting for three whole days (in-
cluding nights we imagine), he was entitled to his maintenance
for life ; but if his eyes once closed for a single moment, he
was forthwith turned out of the castle."

The patriarchal indulgence, modifying the harshness of the
feudal system, is pleasingly displayed in the partial relaxation
of one of its generally harshest features — the game laws.
The following are extracts from various old laws, strongly as-
serting the rights of noble sportsmen.

" But if a good fellow of the county should go into the water
with his hose and shoes on, and should catch hold of a fish, and
eat it with good friends, he shall have done no wrong ; but he
shall not catch fish with nets, or carry them to market. Also
if a shepherd, going with his dog to his sheep, should by
chance catch a hare, and shall carry it openly upon his neck, and
not cook it with kale or cabbage, but shall lawfully roast it (first
doing to it something else, which, for want of a Mrs. Glasse
of the middle ages, we confess our inability to explain or trans-
late), and invite the village magistrate, or some of his lord's
servants to partake of it, he shall have done no wrong ; but he
shall not go after it, nor lie in - wait for it, nor shoot, nor
sell it."

Similar, or even greater privileges, were allowed in some
small states to a ploughman ; nay, even

" A townsman of Eychen, if it be necessary for the support
of his own life or of his family, or to do honour to a guest,
may take fish in the Rhine." * * * And " A citizen, or a
citizen's child, may catch a hare or a wild boar with his dog,
provided he sends the boar's head to my gracious lord of
Ziegenhain at Ziegenhain."

Still greater indulgence was extended to pregnant women,
who were allowed to take, or to employ others to take for them,
fruit, fish, and game, ad libitum, for their own consumption.
The comforts and necessities of women in child-bed were provi-
ded for with a tenderness equally considerate and arbitrary ; and
the thrall engaged in his lord's service was authorised to leave
his work and go instantly home, upon hearing of his wife's
parturient condition, to comfort and take care of the invalid.

APPENDIX. 297

Something of the same kind, of indulgence was extended to-
wards animals. The general right was, after due notice to the
owner, to kill every convicted and relapsed trespassing animal ;
but a trespassing goose was ordered to be hampered, in some
way that we do not quite comprehend, with a long unthrashed
straw ; and if the said goose could release itself, it was entitled
to its life. A hen was allowed to trespass as far upon a neigh-
bour's land as her owner, standing upon two sharp stakes in the
hedge, could throw his ploughshare between his legs. How-
hens were taught to know their precise limits we are not told ;
but they were clearly expected so to do, for a hen that ex-
ceeded her bounds might be killed, provided she was afterwards
thrown into her owner's domain with as many herbs as would
suffice to cook her for a nobleman's table. Further — " A
miller shall not dam up the water so high but that a bee may
sit upon the head of the nail in the middle of the stake, and
drink and enjoy the water without wetting its feet or wings."

In the laws respecting the treatment of strangers the admix-
ture of the kindly and severe spirit appears. Travellers were
not only entitled to hospitality, but whilst journeying were
permitted to cut wood for the repair of their conveyance, what-
that might be, to feed their tired horses with grain, corn, and
grass, or hay from a stack, all to an extent limited by some
specific position of horse or man ; to gather fruit for themselves,
and even to catch fish, provided they lighted a fire, and dressed
and ate it upon the spot. But if they remained a year and a
day in one place, they forfeited the rights of freemen, becoming
the property of the lord of the soil. In many states they had
no weryelt; and, according to the Anglo-Saxon laws of Ina,
they were convicted as thieves by the mere fact of deviating
from the main road without blowing a horn.

But nowhere does this mixed character appear more strong-
ly than with regard^ to criminals. Whilst the punishments
awarded to guilt are fearfully sanguinary, and sometimes so
disgustingly atrocious that we scarcely know how to describe
them, we for ever discover an evident disposition to enable the
culprit to escape. Hanging between wolves and dogs upon a
leafless tree (out of respect for the foliage of a thriving tree we
presume), burning, boiling, flaying, impaling, every kind of
mutilation, tarring and feathering, casting to wild beasts, were
the ordinary doom, when offences were not compounded for by
a sum of money. Cowards were drowned, or rather smothered,
in mud. Removers of boundary stones were buried up to the
neck in the earth, and ploughed to death with a new plough,
four unbroken horses, and a ploughman who -had never before
turned a furrow. Forest burners were seated at a certain

298 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

distance from a fire of a certain magnitude, to which their
bare feet were turned till the soles dropped off. But the most
horrible of punishments awaited him who was detected in
barking trees. His navel was dug out, and nailed to the in-
jured tree, round which he was driven, dragging out his
own bowels, and winding them upon it in lieu of the despoiled
bark. And this whilst every injury to a fellow-creature, even
murder, might be expiated with a sum of money !

With these atrocious punishments were mingled, as is well
known, pecuniary mulcts, seemingly so insufficient to restrain
the passions of men, and finally, other castigations, which simply
dishonoured the sufferer. Amongst these were cutting away
the tablecloth from before a knight as he sat at meat ; com-
pelling him to carry a dog or a saddle, or to wear garments of
some peculiar and unbeseeming form. A man who suffered
himself to be beaten by his wife, in some places had his house
unroofed*, as a gentle intimation of his unfitness to dwell in
the community ; in others he was obliged to lead the donkey
upon which his virago partner was seated backwards, holding
the tail in her hand. One of the dishonouring inflictions that
was peculiarly dreaded, was the burying disgracefully ; a very
important part of which was not to let the infamous corse pass
over the threshold. A hole, if practicable, was dug underneath
it, if not, broken in the wall, through which the dead criminal,
fastened by the foot to a horse, was dragged out to his appointed
grave, prepared in a field, or at the crossing of roads. An
outlaw was in Norse termed vargr i veam, which seems to mean,
literally, condemned to the wolves, or perhaps put on a footing
with the wolves. In truth he was rather worse off, for not
only might every one kill him, but to feed, harbour, or relieve
him, was a heinous crime, even in his wife ; and he who aided
him by land or water, or who neglected an opportunity of
seizing him, besides incurring other punishments, forfeited all
right to demand assistance when himself the subject of outrage.

But various resources against this inhuman code were pro-
vided, not the least important being numerous inviolable
asylums. At one of these, Mattheishof, the law says that

" A man may be protected six weeks and three days -j- ; and
when the six weeks and three days are out, the poor sinner
shall fling a stone against and over the gate of the said Ao/(or

* A common mode of banishing a man was to break down his oven, fill
up his well, nail up his door, and dig a deep ditch before it.

•f A shorter period is always added to the longer in old Teutonic law,
in the spirit of indulgence of which we have spoken, we presume, as a year
and a day, fifty years and a day, or sometimes a month, or some arbitrary
period of time. A man was not to be accounted an old bachelor till he was
fifty years, three months, and three days old.

APPENDIX. 299

court) ; and if he can go three steps beyond the stone and get
back again into the hof, he shall enjoy such another period of
protection ; and if the proprietor of the hof may or can help
him off, by day or night, he shall be authorised so to do for our
Lord's sake."

Another resource was the facility afforded to accused persons,
really guilty, for their defence, undreamed of in modern prac-
tice. They were not obliged to produce witnesses who could
prove their innocence, but merely persons willing to swear to
their own belief in the prisoner's oath that he was innocent.
The number of such co-swearers required varied according to
the nature of the accusation and the rank of the accused —
a thrall requiring nine times as many as his lord ; though we
confess our doubts whether a nobleman, who was indulged
with the privilege of trial by battle, an old heathen institution,
ever condescended to adopt any other means of rebutting an
accusation or establishing a right, than that which was the
business and the pleasure of his life, fiehting.

In a similar contradictory spirit the law of debtor and cre-
ditor seems to have been compiled. Creditors possessed such
rights over their unfortunate debtors, that an old German or
Northman, instead of sharing our indignation against Shylock,
might probably have considered the defrauded Jew as the
proper object of sympathy. By the Norwegian law,

" If a debtor be impertinent to his creditor, or refuse to work
for him, the latter may bring him before a court of justice, and
invite his friends to pay the debt. If the friends will not free
the debtor, the creditor has a right to cut off of him as much
as he will, above or below." (It is not explained whether he
was to cut flesh only, or might lop off a limb.)

But to counterbalance this efficacious kind of personal
security, the debtor seems to have had the power of nearly
defeating his creditor's claim by simply turning his back upon
him ; it being indispensable to mannire (ANGLICE dun) a man
to his face.

The courts of justice in which such singular scenes occurred
and such horrible sentences were pronounced, consisted, our
readers are probably aware, of nearly the whole population of
the district presided over the feudal lord, or by judges ap-
pointed by the sovereign with the concurrence of the people, or
by lord and judges conjointly. It is less generally known, we
conceive, that before the accession of the Carlovingians these
courts were held in the open air. In old heathen times they
were held in consecrated groves, and in Scandinavia under the
shade of the ash, in imitation of the Asa gods, who always sat
in judgment under the ash Yggdrasill; a very discreetly

300 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

chosen locality, by the way, since Mimer's fountain of wisdom
bubbles up under one of its roots. Christianity desecrated
these holy shades in their religious, but did not interfere with
their judicial, character ; and they continued to be the usual
seats of tribunals so long, that in Germany goihg under the
oaks or the linden trees, the favourite situation, became a
phrase for going to law. Various other places, however, an-
swered the same purpose, as hills, hollows, river sides, bridges,
which offered convenient seats and means of enclosure, and the
church door, or the castle or city gate, according to Oriental
custom.

Wherever the court was held, it was so arranged that the
presiding judge faced the east. The accuser stood on his
right, to the south ; and the accused on his left, to the north.
But it was the cardinal point, not the judge's right hand, that
settled the post of honour; for the Welsh law, (we have
spoken of the resemblance existing between Teutonic and
Celtic institutions,) which seats the judge facing the west,
equally stations the accuser southwards and the accused north-
wards, though the former thus stood on the judge's left hand.
The north, which the Germans stili designate as midnight, was
the scene of all guilt and horror to the old Northmen — an
opinion naturally resulting from their profound reverence for
the sun, which itself arose probably from the high value for his
beams, induced by the coldness of the climate. Almost every
thing holy seems to have been associated with the sun's rays,
especially justice. No judicial proceedings could begin before
sun-rise, or continue after sun-set — a rule which must have
occasioned some procrastination during winter in the hyperbo-
rean provinces of Scandinavia.

The hanging up of a shield was essential to the formation of
the court, and an announcement that it was open, as the over-
turning of the judges' seats proclaimed its close ; for the judge
must sit (his rising interrupted all proceedings), and not only
must he sit, but sit in a specific attitude. In one state he was
to sit " with one foot upon the opposite knee ; " in another
" with the right leg thrown over the left, like a grim lion," in
which position, we believe, if he could not decide a point at
once, he was to meditate upon it 123 times. In this awful
position, when he had decided, he pronounced in a loud voice
such dooms as the following : —

" For this we judge and doom thee, and take thee out of all
rights, and place thee in all wrongs ; and we pronounce thy
wife a lawful widow, and thy children lawful orphans ; and we
award thy fiefs to the lord from whom they came, thy patrimony
and acquired property to thy children, and thy body and flesh

APPENDIX. 301

to the beasts of the forest, the birds of the air, the fish in the
water. We give thee over to all men upon all ways; and
where every man has peace and safe conduct, thou shall have
none ; and we turn thee forth upon the four ways of the
world, and no man can sin against thee."

We are tempted to add another specimen of these rudely vivid
poetical judgments.

" When the heirs of a murdered man, upon receiving com-
pensation, are reconciled to the murderer, they shall share knife
and meat and all things together, like friends, not foes. He
who breaks this compact shall be banished, and driven as far
as man can be driven. Wherever Christian men go to church
and Heathen men sacrifice in their temples — wherever fire
burns and earth greens (no circumlocution can render this
quaint but picturesquely descriptive verb) — wherever child
cries for its mother and mother bears child, ship floats, shield
glitters, sun melts snow, fir grows, hawk flies the long spring
day, and the wind stands under his wings * — wherever the
heavens vault themselves, the earth is cultivated, the wind
storms, water runs to the sea, and men sow corn, shall he be
refused the church and God's house, and good men shall deny
him any home but hell. The reconciliation shall subsist for
them and their heirs, born and unborn, begotten and unbe-
gottten, named and unnamed, so long as the earth is and men
live ; and wherever both parties meet, by land or by water, on
ship-board or horseback, on rock or at sea, shall they share with
each other oar and water-bucket, land and plank, as need is,
and be friendly towards each other upon all occasions, as father
to son and son to father."

We cannot quit the subject of courts of justice without a few-
words concerning that singular judicial institution of the
middle ages, which a few years ago excited so much interest in
this country under the descriptive but factitious name of the
Secret Tribunal, and in Germany under its proper, but not
generally understood title of Das Vehm Gericht. The diligent
study that has since been bestowed upon old German has now
explained the difficulty, by showing that fern, as the word was
written of yore, means condemnation ; and the title may be
translated, the Condemning or Criminal Tribunal. Grimm
conceives this Fehm Gericht, with its Frey Graf and Frey
Schoffen — free count, and free judges or assessors — to have
been merely a remnant of the numerous free and sovereign tri-
bunals of earlier times, which retained their independence
longer in Westphalia than elsewhere, and during the capricious

* An idea taken from Scandinavian mythology.

302 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

and tyrannic violence and oppression of the worst period of
feudalism, gradually assumed the forms of secrecy as a means
of prolonging that independence, and as a protection to them-
selves and others against that violence and oppression. The
Vehm Gericht thus constituted, for a time, no doubt, worked
well, executing justice upon criminals above the reach of ordi-
nary tribunals, but could not fail of falling in the course of
time into the hands of wicked, designing, and ambitious men,
and thus becoming an engine of evil, horrible in proportion to
its mysterious potency.

There was another lawful practice of the early Germans and
'Scandinavians, which, offending the best and strongest feelings
of nature, has more than any thing else injured them in the
estimation of posterity — we mean the frequent exposure of
children. Grimm strives to acquit his ancestors of the charge
of especial barbarity upon this score ; and although we must
confess we dearly love the genuine enthusiasm that prompts a
German to stickle for the impeccability of his countrymen,
whether now living or dead these 2000 years, it is impossible
to repress a smile at the zealous industry with which he labours
this point, by showing how long the Greeks and Romans re-
tained the same savage custom or rite. It is one which in fact
seems to have been common to every nation during its early
state, and to have constituted part of the rude idea of paternal
authority. In Germany and Scandinavia the right indisput-
ably thus arose from the patriarchal system ; and for any
palliative explanation of the extent to which it was carried in
those countries, we must refer to what we have already said of
the peculiarly mixed character of the Teutonic races, and of the
little value they set upon life considered as mere life. Sickly
or deformed children they probably deemed it a criminal weak-
ness to rear. To the same principles must we refer the extra-
ordinary custom of elderly persons deliberately destroying
themselves, in a formal and regular way, after dividing their
heritage amongst their children, without any motive except a
desire to escape from the annoyance of old age and its infirmities,
and to reach Valhalla the sooner.

Another custom yet more revolting, because uncoloured by
any kind of even distorted natural right, and violating what we
are accustomed to think of more as a duty and less as an indul-
gence than parental affection, is mentioned by Grimm, but as
having prevailed chiefly among the Sclavonian nations, and
being rare, if not quite unexampled, among the real Germans
— we mean that of sparing old persons the trouble of suicide
by the son's destroying his decrepit parents. But even as

APPENDIX. 303

guilty of this outrage, Grimm alleges that the Teutonic and
Sclavonian races were no worse than the Romans, in proof of
which he quotes a passage from Festus, showing that sexagena-
rians might, in times of scarcity, be legally thrown from a
bridge into the Tiber ; and another, from Cicero ( Cic. pro
Sext. Rose. cap. 35. ), alluding to such a right.

But to return to the exposure of children. This unnatural
exercise of the most natural of authorities, the parental, was, as
we have intimated, carried to an uncommon extent in Germany
and Scandinavia ; and its form was, as usual, curious and pic-
turesque. Every new-born infant was laid upon the floor*, to
await the father's determination whether it should live or die ;
in their language, be taken up, or carried out. In the first
case the father took it into his own arms, acknowledged and
named it. In the other it was carried out and exposed. But
to render this determination lawful, it was requisite that the
child should not have acquired a right to life, by tasting food
or being purified with water ; which last appears to have been
a northern rite or practice prior to the introduction of Christian
baptism. One should have thought this condition might have
almost always enabled a bold and fond mother to secure her
babe from exposure, but it was rarely thus taken advantage of.
Respect for the laws and conjugal submission were more potent,
it should seem, than even maternal love ! Grimm gives, how-
ever, a curious story of its employment, by the mere charity of
a stranger, to preserve an infant that, rescued from its untimely
doom, lived to become the mother of St. Ludiger.

When this infant, Liafburga, came into the world, she had a
heathen grandmother, who, indignant at a number of daughters,
and no male heir, having been already born to her son, ordered
that the expected child, if it proved a girl, should be drowned
ere it could taste food. A girl it was, and the old lady's emis-
saries accordingly carried off the babe, and proceeded to im-
merse it in a pail of water. But the predestined mother of a
saint was not to be thus robbed of her future honours. The
infant extended her little arms, and grasping the sides of the
vessel, stoutly defended her life. During this extraordinary
struggle a woman chancing to pass by was touched with pity,
and snatching the babe from the hands of the legal assassin,
fled with it into her own house, where she put honey into its
mouth. When the man, who in obedience to his orders had
been endeavouring to drown Liafburga, saw her licking the

* Was it not rather born upon the floor, and left there untouched ?
The Scandinavian expression answering to our "lady in the straw," was
— the woman on the pavement or floor.

304 HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

honey from her lips, his conscience would not suffer him to
make any further attempt at executing his murderous charge.
He durst not, however, impart what had happened to his savage
mistress : he assured her that she had been obeyed ; and
Laafburga was secretly brought up by her preserver until the
old grandmother's death allowed of her being restored to her
parents.

We must observe upon this story, that it is the more extraor-
dinary, inasmuch as the right of a father was only to expose
his child where it had a chance of being preserved, not to kill
it ; and that this right could never, under any circumstances,
we believe, be vested in a female. The rights of women were,
indeed, generally speaking, rather moral than legal, and
mothers by no means shared the authority of fathers. A father
under any great pressure of distress might sell his minor sons
and unmarried daughters, even as leibeigene or thralls (though
not a daughter to prostitution) ; while no circumstances could
authorise a mother to sell her son. This leads us to say a
few words upon the condition of women amongst the old Ger-
mans, with which we shall conclude this paper.

Some misconceptions exist upon this subject, chiefly, we ap-
prehend, because the same apparent anomalies are found in the
treatment of women, as in every part of the character and con-
duct of the Teutonic nations, and arising from the same, seldom
sufficiently considered, causes to which we have referred the
others ; that is to say, from the qualities of head and heart,
modified by habits of life, that distinguished the warriors of the
north. They venerated their women as the chosen vessels of
divine inspiration * ; they loved them with the entire and
passionate tenderness characteristic of pure morals, as the chaste
partners of their weal and woe, and the mothers of their
children ; and they protected them with an earnest care pro-
portioned to their helplessness, f But when we reflect that
amongst these nations the whole business of existence was fight-
ing, we perceive with self-evident clearness the absurdity of the
supposition that women were, or could be, deemed the equals
of men. In fact, Teutonic women never seem to have possessed
what we should esteem free agency, being held in constant
wardship of some male relation or connection ; even a widow

* We do not mean that all women were thought to be inspired, but that
it was only women who ever were so.

f By the Bavarian law a woman's wergeld was triple a man's, and was
so expressly because she could not defend herself. If she bore arms she
might be killed as cheap as a man. The rate of wergeld of the two sexes
varies so capriciously in different states, that no conclusion can be drawn
from its irregular difference.

APPENDIX. 305

becoming the ward of her husband's heir ; of her own son, if
he were of age. Their only legal rights were to the care, affec-
tion, and respect of those guardian kinsmen ; and public opinion,
we believe, abundantly secured them in the enjoyment of those
rights. And it may, perhaps, be admitted, as a collateral proof
of how strongly the observance of the respect due to women
was enforced, that one of the few occasions upon which it was
allowable for a man to take the law into his own hands, was a'
guest's behaving or speaking immodestly at table in an honest
man's house. If the offender would not forbear upon being
admonished, the master of the house was authorised to beat
him.

Women were no otherwise excluded from their father's suc-
cession than as the possession of his property was necessarily
connected with the right and duty of bearing arms at the call
of the country or of a feudal superior ; and moveable property was
strictly divided into theheergew'dt and the gerade, or what apper-
tained to the equipment of a warrior and of a woman, which
were allotted to male and female heirs accordingly. In the
latter were included " religious books, such as women use to
read." If a widow had a daughter whose cry could be heard
through a board, her gerade was proportionably increased. It
should be remarked that minors seem to have had neither heerge-
w'dt nor gerade.

In the midst of our admiration of the Teutonic tenderness
and respect for the weaker sex as compared with the treatment
experienced by women in the rest of the then known world,
including Greece and even Rome, where they were better off,
it is somewhat startling to find that a wife was purchased in
Germany much as in Asia ; nay, that by one law against adul-
tery, he who seduced the wife of a freeman was bound to buy
him another. Yet we cannot conceive the Teutonic purchase
of a wife to have been really of the Oriental character. It ap-
pears to us possible that the price paid by the bridegroom was
a kind of acknowledgment of the absolute property of the
bride's father in his child, of which we have already spoken.
Grimm even sees ground to hope, that though the father bar-
gained for his daughter's price, the sum received was given to
the bride herself, and was therefore rather in the nature of a
modern settlement. This is so gratifying a view of the matter,
as saving the gallantry of the forefathers and the dignity of the
foremothers of all nations of Teutonic descent, that we are
unwilling to investigate it too minutely, and regret the necessity
of stating that the three pennies, (or shillings, we are not sure
which,) constituting the price of a widow in Lombardy, were

VOL. III. X

306 BISTORT OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

paid to her guardian, and can hardly be considered as the lady's
pin-money or jointure. Still they might, according to our
suggestion, be a sort of acknowledgment of the rights he had
acquired over her, or perhaps a compensation for some advantage
he might have expected to derive from the management of her
property, if she had any ; if not, more simply, a partial repay-
ment to the first husband's family of what she had originally
cost them. It will be remembered that the husband's heir was
the widow's natural guardian.

INDEX.

ADALBERT, archbishop of Bremen,
i. 141.

Adalbert, St., elected bishop of
Prague, ii. 135. His ill success,
13(3. Is resolved on a pilgrimage to

1 Jerusalem ; is dissuaded from this
step, returns to Rome, and as-
sumes the habit in the monastery
of St. Alexis, 137. He returns to
his bishopric, 138. His disgust
at the savage character of the
people ; he leaves his see a second
time; massacre of his brethren,
139. Success of his missionary
labours in Poland, 140. His death,
141.

Adalbert, duke of Carinthia, i. 137.

Adam of Bremen, ii. 2.

Adamites, the, ii. 254.

Adelaide, the empress, i. 183.

Adelaide, St., ii. 160.

Adolf, of Nassau, proclaimed king
of the Romans ; his character,
i. 259. He is deposed, and Albert
the son of Rodolf elected in his
place; his death, 2fi().

Adolf, count of Nassau, ii. 274.
Elected archbishop of Mentz ;
wars which followed his election,
275.

Adolf of Nassau, iii. 136.

Adrian, pope, sends Francisco Che-
regato to the diet of Nuremberg,
iii. 109.

^Eneas Sylvius, ii. 17.

Agnes, St., daughter of Premislas,
king of Bohemia, ii. 151. Is suc-
cessively betrothed to two princes;
is again betrothed to Frederick
II. of Austria ; austerities prac-
tised by her, 152. The pope
despatches a bull, prohibiting her
marriage ; her death, 153.

Agnes, widow of Andrew III.,
king of Hungary, i. 264.

Aix la Chapelle, treaty of, iii. 253.

Alamanni, the, situation of, i. 3.

Albert, the Boar, i. 156.

Albert I. emperor of Germany, elec-
tion of, i. 260. His meanness and
ambition, 261. Turbulence of
the Germanic provinces of, 2fi2.
Murder of, 263. His character,
264.

Albert II., margrave of Branden-
burg, i. 221.

Albert, king of Norway, ii. 6.

Albert the Wise, of Austria, i. 293.

Albert II., king of Hungary and
Bohemia, elected king of the Ro-
mans, ii. 264. His regulations for
the internal peace of the empire,
265. His death, 266.

Albert, duke of Austria, his war
with his brother Frederic III.,
ii. 272. His death, 273. '

Albert of Brandenburg, iii. 143.

Albertus Magnus, ii. 178.

Aleandri, his address to the diet,
iii. 43.

Alexander II., pope, i. 142.

Alexander IV., pope, i. 207.

Alfonso X. of Castile, i. 207.

Ambrosius, St., ii. 102.

Amsterdam, anabaptists of, iii. 97.

Amurath, the son of Orcan, ii.
265.

Anabaptists, hostility of Luther to-
wards them, iii. 69. Spoliation,
bloodshed, and ruin committed
by them, 73. Their defeat by the
count Mansfeld, 76. Retire to
Zurich, 78. Their fanatical con-
duct in Munster, 82

Andrew III., king of Hungary, i.
264.

Anne, princess, daughter of La-
dislas, iii. 162.

Anne acknowledged queen of Eng-
land, iii. 245.

Antoinette, Maria, marriage of
with the dauphin of France, iii.
260.

Appendix A., iii. 275. B., 285.

308

HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

Arundorf, Nicolas, iii. H7.

Arnulf, duke of Carinthia, elected
king of Germany, i. 38. Attaches
the Bohemians and the Mora-
vians, with their king Swentibold,
to his interests, 39. His short-
sighted policy, i ' i. His triumphs
over the Normans ; is crowned
emperor of Germany by the pope ;
his death, 41.

Arnulf, duke of Bavaria, i. 103.
Leagues with the ;Hungarians
against Conrad I., 105. Convicted
of high treason at the diet of
Atheim ; is excommunicated,
and placed under the ban of the
empire ; is forced to take refuge
in Hungary ; is succeeded in his
titles and estates by his son Bur-
kard II., K>a

Astolfus of Lombardy, i. 24.

Augsburg, diet of, iii. 120.

Augustine, St., of Canterbury, ii.
78.

Augustus III., of Saxony, elected
to the Polish throne, iii. 248.
Claims the Austrian dominions
on the death 01 Charles VI.,
251.

Aulic council, founded by the em-
peror Maximilian I., ii. 296. It
gradually acquires reputation and
strength, 297.

Austreg, the ; or system of arbi-
tration, ii. 298. Efforts made by
successive sovereigns to procure
the abolition of, 300.

Baden, peace with France concluded
at, iii. 245.

Bajazet, ii. 265.

Baldwin, count of Flanders, i.
62.

Baldwin, archbishop of Treves, his
martial character, ii. 218.

Bale, the council of, proceedings of,
ii. 260.

Balthasar, at the head of the Ana-
baptists, retires to Zurich; suc-
cessively visits Constance, Mo-
ravia, and Vienna, where he is
executed, iii. 78.

Basnage, the learned editor of Cani-
sius, ii. 45.

Battori, Stephen, succeeds John
Sigismund, iii. 188.

Beccold, John, iii. 82. Tyranny of,

87. Is hailed king of Munster,

88. His execution, 104.
Benno, a monk, i. 187.
Berenger, duke of Friuli, i. 39.
Bergen, the third emporium of the

Hanscatic league; the confeder-
ation maintains itself to the
seventeenth century, ii. 12.

Bernard, duke of Septimania, i.
36.

Bertha, the empress, anecdote of,
i. 182.

Berthold, duke of Zehringen, i.
19.0.

Blenheim, battle of, iii. 232.

Bohemia, state of religion in, ii.
131. Sensation created in, by the
executions of Hugs and Jerome,
248.

Boleslas, duke of Bohemia, i. 111.

Boleslas, king of Poland ; his war
with Heinric II., i. US.

Boleslas, duke of Bohemia; his
character, ii. 133. Murders his
brother Boleslas, and succeeds to
the throne of Bohemia ; his con-
version to Christianity, and sin-
cere reformation of life, 134.

Boleslas the Pious, son and suc-
cessor of the former, ii. 134. His
efforts to diffuse Christianity
throughout his people, 135.

Boniface VIII., pope, i. 26C.

Boniface, St., his missionary labours
in Germany, ii. 52. His policy
in regard to the papal court, 53.
Number of his converts ; he pro-
cures associates from England,
54. Monasteries and schools
founded by him, 55. Germany
indebted to him for the diffusion
of literature, and improvement
in agriculture, 56. Martyrdom
of; an account of some of the
statutes drawn up by him for the
use of the church, 57.

Boren, Catherine, marriage of with
Luther, iii. 107.

Borizof, duke, his conversion to
Christianity displeasing to the
people, who confer the ducal
crown on another prince, ii. 131.
His restoration, and efforts to
diffuse the blessings of Christi-
anity among his people, 132.

Brandenburg, elector of, recognised
as king of Russia, iii. 245.

Bretislas, duke, his conversation
with St. Gunther, ii. 145. La-
bours to improve the moral cha-
racter of his people, 146. His
address to his people on the sub-
ject of their reformation, 147.

Bruges, the emporium of the Han-
seatic league; of southern Eu-
rope, ii. 12. Decline and fall of
the league, 13.

Buda, reduction of, iii. 132.

Burchard, St., the first bishop of
Wurtzburg, ii. 58.

INDEX.

309

Burgundian law. the, its affinity to

the Roman, i. 78.
Burkard, duke of Swabia, i. 103.

Murdered by his subjects, 105.
Burkard II., duke of Bavaria, i.

106.

Cajsar, i. 17.

Cajetan, the papal legate, summons
Luther lo appear before his tri-
bunal at Augsburg, iii. 12.

Calixtus II., pope, i. 154.

Calvin, John, his birth and educa-
tion ; his treatise on the instruc-
tion of Christian Men, iii. 170.
His great learning, and severity
of his life, 171. His works, 172.

Calvinists, their opposition to the
Lutherans, iii. 169.

Campanus, the apostolic nuncio, ii.

Campegio, cardinal, despatched by
Clement to Nuremberg, iii. 111.

Canute, king of Denmark, i.
139.

Carlos, don, acknowledged king of
the two Sicilies, iii. 248.

Carlstadt, iii. 26. His violent pro.
ceedings at \Virtemberg, 53. Op.
position he encounters from Lu-
ther, 56. His death, 57.

Carloman, eldest son of Charles
Martel; assumes the cowl, i. 12.

Carloman, king of Bavaria, i. 38.

Carloman, son of Charles the Bald;
his death, i. 62.

Carlovingian period, view of the
state of society, laws, and man.
ners. during the, i. 43.

Casimir, prince of Poland, aspires
• to the imperial crown, ii. 264.
Expelled from Bohemia by Al-
bert 1 1., 265.

Catherine II., succeeds Peter III.,
iii. 256.

Cellarius, iii. 71.

Cesarius of Heisterbach, ii. 175.
His education, 183. Extracts
from his writings, 184.

Charlemagne, peculiar advantages
which attended his accession, i.
25. After repeated revolts, sub-
dues the Saxons; and, after
having massacred 45,000 prison-
ers, compels two of their chiefs
to submit to baptism, 29. Car-
ries the boundary of his empire
from the Ens to the Raab, while
his generals carried it from the
Elbe to the Danube, 31. Hesub.
dues Catalonia, is crowned em-
peror at Rome by pope Leo III.,
$2. His character, 33. At his

death divides his dominions
with his sons ; their weak and
unworthy conduct, 35. Difficul-
ties, which he had to overcome,
26. He declares war with the
Saxons, and takes the strong
fortress Eresberg, in which was
the deified statue of Irmin, 27-
Forccs the deputies of the Saxon
states, and the chiefs of the con-
federations, to give hostages for
their future obedience, 28.

Charles Martel subdues and de-
featsthe Bavarians, the Swabians,
and the Frisians ; he overcomes
the Arabs in a great battle on the
plains of Poictiers; his policy,
i. 11. His death; he bequeaths
the dominions of the Franks to
his three sons, 12.

Charles the Fat, i. 37. Invested
with the imperial title ; is
deposed for his cowardice and
imbecility, 38. His death, 39.

Charles the Bald, i. 36. Succeeds
to the title of emperor, and the
government of Italy ; his death,
i. 37.

Charles the Simple, i. 38.

Charles the Good, count of Flan-
ders, i. 155.

Charles de Valois, i. 265.

Charles IV., emperor of Germany,
i. 272. Accused of poisoning
Guntber, count of Scliwartzen-
burg; his internal administra-
tion, 273. Recognises the right
of suffrage as inseparable from
the high offices of the imperial

. state and household, 274. His
foreign policy and general cha-
racter, 277. His death, 279.

Charles V., of Spain, is elected to
the Germanic throne, iii. 3, Pre-
cautions taken at his election,
4. Letter addressed to him
by Luther, S3. Executes the
bull against Luther, 38. His
defeat of Francis at Pavia, 113.
Convokes a diet at Augsburg,
120. Duplicity of, 127. His vic-
tory over the protestants, 137.
Humiliation of, 144. Abdication
of, 159.

Charles VI., successor of Joseph,
iii. 244. His affairs with foreign
powers, 245. Acknowledges
Philip as lawful king of Spain, 247.
Concludes peace with the Turks,
248. The inglorious character of
his foreign administration ; dif-
ficulties as to the succession, £49.

Charles VII., iii. 251.

Charles VIII. of France, seizes
Naples, ii. 286.

.310

HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRK.

Charles Albert, on the death of
Charles VII., lays claim to Bo-
hemia, iii. 251.

Cheregati, Francisco, despatched hy
pope Adrian to Nuremberg, iii.
109. .

Childebert III., i. 9.

Childeric II., i. 12.

Chilperic II., i. 10.

Christian, king of Denmark, iii.

ioa

Christiana of Saxony, iii. 150.

Christianity, diffusion of in Ger-
many during -the domination
of the later Koman emperors, ii.
42. Counteracted by the migra-
tions of the Pagan tribes, 43.

Christina succeeds Gustavus of
Sweden, iii. 204.

Chrodegang, St., his birth, parent-
age, and education, ii. 78. Be-
comes the chancellor and friend
of Charles Martel; is elected
bishop of Montz ; his rule for the
correction of abuses in the clergy,
79.

Claremont, countess of, story of,
i. 246.

Clement V., pope, i. 265.

Clement VI., pope, i. 272.

Clement VII., pope, iii. 111.

Clothaire I., i. 8.

Clotilda, queen of Clovis, i. 7.

Clovis, prince of the Salian Franks,
i. 5. His conversion to the
Catholic faith ; he subdues the
greater part of Gaul ; receives
from the Greek emperor the con-
sular and patrician honours;
through a succession of crimes
becomes sole monarch of the
Franks, 6. His death and divi-
sion of his kingdom between his
four sons, 7.

Clovis III., successor of Dagobert,
i. 9.

College of princes, its formation
and history one of the most in-
teresting circumstances relating
to Germany during the middle
ages, i. 218.

Commendoni, cardinal, iii. 168.

Conrad, count of Franconia, i.
103.

Conrad, duke of Franconia, i. 155.

Conrad I., his worthy character, i.
104. His war with Henry duke
of Saxony ; his success in
Swabia, 105. His success in Lor-
raine ; is mortally wounded in an
engagement with the Huns ; is
succeeded by Henry duke of
Saxony, 106.

Conrad II. elected emperor; he
annexes Burgundy to the empire;

forces the Polish king to do ho-
mage for Silesia; he establishes
his superiority over the Lom-
bards, i. 138. He cedes Sleswig
to Canute, king of Denmark,
139. Confers extensive privi-
leges on the nobles of the em-
pire ; procures his son Henry to
be elected his successor, 139.

Conrad III., elected emperor ;
crowned king of the Romans, by
the papal legate, i. 187. Internal
troubles during his reign ; he
assumes the cross, and departs
with the flower of Teutonic chi-
valry to the Holy Land, 188.
His death, 189.

Conrad IV., emperor of Germany ;
his premature death, i. 205.

Conradin, duke of Swabia, i. 205.
Invades Naples to expel the papal
feudatory Charles of Anjou ; is
defeated and made prisoner, and
perishes ingloriously on the scaf-
fold, 203.

Constance, the councilof,assembled,
ii. 228.

Constanza, heiress of the Sicilian
throne ; her marriage with the
emperor Heinric VI., i. 193.

Corbinian, St., founder of tne see of
Freysinga, ii. 46. Assumes the
episcopal office ; attempt to assas-
sinate him, 46. His death ; mira-
cles ascribed to him, 47.

Cumberland, duke of, his imbe-
cility, iii. 255.

Cunegund, St., empress of Hein-
ric II., i. 117. Regency of, 136.
Accused of adultery , and demands
the ordeal of red-hot plough-
shares.iL 159. Retreats from the
world to a nunnery ; ceremony
of her profession ; her death,
160.

Cyprian, St. ii. 3ia

D'Aichery, an account of the col-
lection of canons published by
him in the eleventh volume of
his Spicilegium, ii. 91.

Digobert II., i. 9.

Dagobert III., i 10.

Dauphin of France, afterwards
Louis XVI. ; marriage of with
Marie Antoinette, iii. 2fiO.

De Duras, marechal, cruelties com-
mitted by the French army under
him, iii. 240.

De Geelen, John, conspiracy of, iii.
190.

De Grumbach, William, procures

INDEX.

311

' the assassination of Melchior, bi-
shop of Wurtzburg, iii. 187.

De Kaupen, Jacob, iii. 96.

De Saal, Margaret, iii. 150.

De Zapolya, John, iii. 114.

Denis, St., of Paris, ii. 81.

Deux- Fonts, duke of, iii. 258.

Devil and the stupid scholar, the
legend of, ii. 184.

Dietrich of Isemberg, elected arch-
bishop of Mentz, his base cha-
racter, ii. 274. Is deposed by a
solemn bull issued by the pope,
and his rival Adolf, count of
Nassau, declared archbishop
elect, 275.

Dithmar, bishop of Prague, ii.
135. His death, and self-condemn-
ation for his want of zeal, 136.

Ditmar, the historian, i. 136.

Ditmar, of Merseburg, his direc-
tions for treating the Poles, i. 100.
His account of their singular
punishment for eating meat in
Lent, 10L

Donizo, the Italian biographer of
the countess Matilda, i. 171.

Dortmund, treaty of, iii. 194.

Drahomira, a pagan princess, wife
of Wratislas, duke of Bohemia;
her cruel persecutions of the
Christians, ii. 132.

Ducange, i. 75.

Eberhard, duke of Franconia, i.
106.

Eckard, margrave of Misnia, i. 114.

Eckius, professor of theloogy, iii. 11.
His disputation with Martin Lu-
ther, 27.

Edward III. of England, I 272.

Edward IV. of England, ii. 12.

Eigil, St., abbot of Fulda, ii. 104.

Elizabeth, St., her reported extra-
ordinary visions, ii. 167. Her
vision relating to St. Ursula and
the eleven thousand virgins, 170.
Her death, 172.

Elizabeth, widow of Albert II., ii.
267.

Emmeran, St., first bishop of Ra-
tisbon, ii. 43. Success of his
missionary labours ; charge pre-
ferred against him of having se-
duced the daughter of Duke
Theodo, 44. Is overtaken by her
brother, and murdered on his
way to Rome, 45.

Emser, a doctor of Leipsic, affirms
Luther's translation of the Scrip-
tures to be inaccurate, and com-
pletes one of his own, iii. 60.

X 4

Eric, king of Denmark, ii. 6.

Ermentrude, first abbess of Non-
berg, ii. 46.

Ernest of Austria, i. 122.

Ethelbert, king of Kent, i. 78.

Etico, duke of Alamannia, i. 249.

Eudes, duke of Aquitaine, i. 39.

Eugene, iii. 243.

Eugenius IV,. pope, i. 290.

Eusebius, the first prelate who in-
troduced communal life among
the secular clergy, ii. 76.

Ferdinand I., iii. 165. Wise go-
vernment of, 167. Substitutes
diets of deputation for the gene-
ral diet, 184.

Ferdinand II., succeeds Matthias,
iii. 198. Attempts to extirpate
protestantism from Germany ,202.
His death, 205. His character,
206.

Ferdinand III. succeeds Ferdi-
nand II., iii. 206. His death,
230.

Fernando the Catholic, ii. 286.

Fleury, the abb£, his remonstrances
on the severity of the early
canons, ii. 85.

Florence, count, story of, i. 246.

Formosus, pope, i. 41.

Francis I. succeeds to the German
throne, iii. 253. Invasion of his
dominions by the Russians and
Austrians, 255. Despatches an
army into Bohemia, and lays
waste the country, 259. Death
of, 262. Troubles of his reign,
254.

Francis II., successor to Leopold
II., iii. 273.

Frankfort, truce of, iii. 131.

Frankfort, the diet of, 268. Spi-
rited conduct of, in regard to tne
papal pretensions, 270.

Franks, the situations of, i. 3.

Frederic I., his transactions in
Germany, i. 189. His transac-
tions in Italy, 192. Assumes the
cross, and proceeds to Palestine ;
his death, and character of his
reign, 193.

Frederic of Austria elected king of
the Romans by one party, while
Ludowie V. was elected by an-
other, i. 268. His magnanimity,
269.

Frederic the Warlike, i. 292.

Frederic II., emperor of Germany,
receives the imperial crown from
the hands of Honorius III., i. 197.
Duplicity of his conduct; his

312

HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

transactions in the Holy Land,
199. Hii interview with Gre-
gory IX., 200. His transactions
in Italy ; his disputes with the
pope, 201. Civil war during his
reign, his death, 203. His cha-
racter, 204.

Frederic III., elected emperor; his
character, ii. 2fi6. Difficulty of his
position with regard' to Elizabeth,
widow of Albert II., 267. Com-
pelled to deliver up his ward, Ula-
dislas, who is escorted into Hun-
gary, and returns into Bohemia
to receive the homage of that
people, 269. His incapacity as a
sovereign ; his transactions in
Switzerland, 270. His transac-
tions with the papal court, 271.
Receives the imperial crown from
the hands of the pope ; his war
with his brother Albert, 272. His
military reviews ; his affairs with
the palatinate, 273. His impolitic
conduct with regard to the see of
Men tz, 274. He stirs up a war be-
tween Podiebrad and Matthias of
Hungary ; prevails on the pope to
preach a crusade against the Bo-
hemian king, 275. Enters into
an alliance with Ladislas against
Matthias of Hungary; his un-
successful war with Matthias,
276. Is successful in his ef-
forts for the aggrandisement of
his family, 277. His death and
character, 278. State of affairs
during his reign, 279.

Frederic, duke of Saxony, imperial
vicar of the empire, resigns his
pretensions to the imperial dig-
nity in favour of Charles, iii. 2.
His defence of Luther, 14.

Frederic V., his flight from Bohe-
mia, iii. 200.

Frederic, king of Prussia, offers to
remain neuter in the war of
MariaTheresa with her enemies,
on the condition of Lower Silesia
being ceded to him, iii. 251.

Frederick of Hohenstauffen, duke
of Swabia, i. 155.

Frisian laws, extracts from and re.
marks on the, ii. 32.

Fulco, archbishop of Rheims, mur-
der of, i. 61.

Fulda, the abbot of, his quarrel
with the bishop of Hildesheim,
i 179.

Gaul, state of liberty in, i. 22.
Gelasius II., pope, i. 153. His death,
154.

George, margrave of Brandenburg.
iii. 113.

George, duke of Saxony, death of,
iii. 130.

George II., of England, assists Ma-
ria Theresa with money and
troops, iii. 252.

Germany, unsettled state of, prior
to the French monarchy, i. 1.
Changes of appellation, alliances,
and confederations of the Ger-
manic tribes, 2. Encroachments
of the Germanic tribes, and
their conquests of other states, 4.
Tribes, changes of appellation, al-
liances, and confederations of, 2.
Encroachments of, and their con-
quests of other states, 4. Judicial
system of the Germanic tribes;
had anciently as many republics as
it had tribes, 17. State of liberty
in, 22. View of the state of so-
ciety, laws, and manners in, dur-
ing the Carlovingian period, from
752 to 911, 43. Situation of, on
the extinction of the Carlovingian
line, 99. Anarchy of the empire ;
war and rapine of the feudal
princes, 101. Review of the so-
ciety, laws, manners, religion,
manufactures, and commerce, in
the empire, during the period
occupied by the house of Saxony,
118. Beneficial effects of Chris-
tianity in, 128. Struggle between
the emperors and the popes, 148.
The celebrated concordat of 1122,
159. Bounds of the empire ; of
the imperial authority, 157. In
proportion as the power of the
emperors decreased, that nf the
states augmented, 161. Classes
of Germanic society; obligation
of military service on all, 164.
Municipal institutions, 166. Pro-
gressive amelioration in the lot
of the peasantry, 167. General
character of Germanic society ;
anecdotes illustrative of national
manners, 171. Bandit nobles, 1~2.
More anecdotes illustrative of
manners, 175. Ties of blood over-
looked, 176. Anecdote illustra-
tive of, 177. The spiritual, not
superior to the temporal, digni-
taries ; want of religion, the chief
cause of the outrages committed,
178. Other anecdotes illustrative
of the dreadful state of morals
during the Franconian period,
183. Internal troubles during the
reign of Conrad III., 187. Civil
war in, during the reign of Fre-
deric IL, 203. Progress of the

Germanic constitution, 208. Di-
minution of the imperial reve-
nues, 209. Peculiarities of the
Swabian period, 211. Conversion
of the privilege of pretaxation
into the right of election, 213.
Right of suffrage; number of
electors, 214. The college of
princes; its formation and history,
218. Augmentation of the body ;
their privileges, 219. Consolid-
ation of the territorial govern,
merit, 221. The condition of the
nobles immediately below the
rank of a prince, 223. Progress
of the Germanic municipalities,
224. Condition of the serfs and
peasantry, 2-28. Progressive ame-
lioration in their lot, 229. Mi-
litary service, 231. Progress of
territorial jurisdiction, 232. State
of society, 233. Alarming cha-
racter of the times, 237. Anec-
dote illustrative of the fearful
condition of society at this period,
239. Effects produced by the in-
stitutions of chivalry, 241. Anec-
dotes illustrative of national
violence, 243. State of the empire
after the death of Richard, king
of the Romans, to the election of
Rodolf of Hapsburg, 249. Tur-
bulence of the Germanic princes,
during the reign of Albert I., 262.
Restoration of the imperial au.
thority, 263 Troubles in the
kingdom during the absence of
the sovereign, i!75. Steps taken
to remedy them, 276. State of
the imperial authority and reve-
nues, 294. State of the electoral
dignity, 297. Effects of the dimi-
nution of the imperial revenues,
299. Privileges of the electors,
302. The territorial princes, their
position in regard to the other
powers of the state. 305. The
nobles without territorial juris-
diction, S12. Their natural hos-
tility to the other branches of the
state, 313. Improvement in the
condition of the rustic population,
314. Character, manners, and
habits of the nation during the
period of the Hanseatic league;
chivalrous character of the Ger-
man nobles, ii. 14. Degeneracy
of the nobles. 17. The right of
private war,' 18. Drunkenness,
a national characteristic of the
people, !9. Fruitless endeavours
to repress, 20. An account of
some of the Germanic codes in
use during the middle ages, 21.
First appearance of the Roman

ex. SI 3

law in the national code, 22. Its

progress, 23. Diffusion of Chris-
tianity during the domination of
the later Roman emperors, 42.
Counteracted by the migrations
of the Pagan tribes ; small pro-
portion of the new converts to
that of the idolaters, 43. Suc-
cessful preaching of the Gospel
in the north of Germany; ex-
clusively indebted to mission-
aries from Ireland and England,
48. Remarks on German juris-
prudence in general, £6. Further
remarks of the general spirit of
native codes, 30. Frequency of
national councils, 61. Introduc-
tion of canons in cathedrals ;
institution of chapters, 75. Com-
munal life introduced among the
secular clergy by Eusebius, 7f.
Distinction between monks and
canons, 77. Indebted for the
useful arts to Charlemagne, 95.
His capitularies respecting arti-
zans and the different branches
of rural industry, 96. Frequency
of famines in the ninth century ;
commerce chiefly exercised by
the Jews; their influence in the
state, 98. Extensive traffic in
slaves, 99. Improvement in the
literature of, 100. The verna-
cular literature of, 118. Intel-
lectual state of, 178. On the
death of Heinric V 1 1. is plunged
into horrors to which, since the
extinction of the Swabian line of
emperors, it had been a stranger,
i. 267. State at thedeath of Frede-
ric II I.; ii. 284. Institution of the
imperial chamber by Sigismund,
289. An account of, 291. Want
of foresight in the German legis-
lators, 294. Propositions of the
circles, 295. Proceedings of the
imperial chamber based on the
common law of Germany, 296.
State of religion in, at thedeath
of Maximilian, 308. Summary of
the causes which led to the Re-
formation, 309. Sale of indul-
gences, 311.

Germanic church, character of the
papal and imperial policy, in
regard to, i. 146. German
bishoprics founded in the time
of Charlemagne; Riches of
the church, ii. 61. Episcopal
jurisdictions, 62. Indifference
of the nobles to the thunders
of the church, 63. Number of
serfs attached to the "church, 64.
The bishops gradually become
judges, 65. Assessors appointed

HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

314

to report to the bishop the state of
each district, 66. Injury sustained
by the bishops at the hands of the
nobles,68. Military service attach-
ed to the church under the Car-
lovingians, 70. Personal service
of the bishops ; martial charac-
ter of some of them, 71. Authority
of the sovereigns over the church,
72. Abuse at the election of
bishops, 73. Progressive power
of the bishops, 74. Cathedral
discipline, rule for the correction
of abuses in the clergy, 79. Divi-
sion of the administration of the
church revenues, 81. Independ-
ence of the cathedral clergy ;
good results of the communal life
among the clergy, 82. Establish-
ment of Benedictine communi.
ties, 83. Moral influence which the
church exercised over the minds
of men, 84. Severity of the penal
early canons ; penance, 85. This
severity relaxed, and substitutes
provided, 87. Penitentials, an
account of that drawn up by Hal.
itgar, 89. An account of the
canons published by D'Aichery
in the eleventh volume of his
Spicilegium,91. Contrast between
the clergy of the middle ages, and
those of our time, 93. Penitential
of Rhabanus Maurus, 94. In-
tellectual state of.during the Car-
lovingian period, 95. Rigorous
penalties decreed by, against the
man who should sell a slave be-
yond the confines of Germany, 99.
Education of youth in the schools
attached to monasteries and ca-
thedrals, 100. Barrenness of the
literature of the, 102. Peculiarity
of the, 120. Nomination of bi-
shops by the crown ; venality of
elections, 121. The communal
life falls into disuse, 122. En-
croachments of episcopal feu-
datories ; jurisdiction of the arch-
bishops, 123. Abuses in the
churches dependent on cathe-
drals and monasteries, 124. Juris-
diction of the bishops, 125. Limits
of spiritual jurisdiction not de-
fined, 126. Disuse of canonical
penance, indulgences, want of
discipline, and irregularities of
the clergy, 128. Hired laymen em-
ployed to officiate in parochial
churches, during the absence of
the incumbents, 129. Ecclesias-
tical penalties, 130. State of re-
ligion in Bohemia, 131. Intellec-
tual state of, 179. Credulity its
leading feature, 182. Encroach-

ment of the nobles on the church
domains, 217. Ignorance and
profligacy of the canons, 218.
Ecclesiastical magicians, 183.
State of, from 1271 to 1437, 216.
Martial character of the bishops,
217. Princes and nobles alone
chosen for the episcopal office,
219. The pope by degrees arro-
gates to himself the right of no-
minating to vacant canonries,220.
Continued abuses of the church,

221. Simony at the papal court,

222. Cause of the evils which
continued to deform the, 223.
Disputes respecting the archdia-
cpnal jurisdiction, 224. Suppres-
sion of some of the obnoxious
tribunals, 225. Comparison be-
tween the secular and ecclesiasti-
cal tribunals, 226. Universal call
for reformation, 227. The subject
of reform rendered illustrious by
the genius of Dante and Pe-
trarch, 228. State of, at the death
of Maximilian, 308. Summary of
the causes which led to the Re-
formation, 309. Sale of indul-
gences, the immediate cause
which led to the Refprmation.Sll.

Germanic tribes, society of the, i.
20. The feudal system, 21.

Gero, a Saxon count, i. 130. His
cruel massacre of the Slavonians,
100.

Giovanni Galeazzo Visconti, duke
of Milan, i. 287.

Godehard, St., abbot of Altaich, ii.
141.

Golden bull, publication of the fa-
mous, i. 273.

Gonsalvo de Cordova, ii. 286.

Gontram the Rich, count of Alsace,
i. 249.

Gosbert, duke, his conversion to
Christianity; is assassinated by
his own domestics, ii. 51.

Goths, the, situation of, and the
different tribes of this great stock,
i 4.

Gottschalk, the impostor, his doc-
trine, ii. 108.

Gotz of Berlichingen, ii. 305.

Gratian, ii. 23.

Gregory of Tours, i. 15.

Gregory VII., pope, i. 146.

Gregory IX., pope, his talents and
zeal for ecclesiastical discipline,
i. 198. His disputes with the em-
peror Frederick II., i. 202.

Gregory X., pope, i. 252.

Gregory, St.. of Utrecht, his zeal for
the diffusion of the gospel, ii. 59.

Grifo, bastard son of Charles Mar-
tel, i. 12.

315

Grimoald, i. 9.

Grossetete, bishop of Lincoln, i. 201.

Guelf, marquis of Este, i. 142.

Guelf and Ghibelin, origin of the
terms, i. 188.

Guelph, of Bavaria, i. 165.

Guido, duke of Spoleto, i. 39.

Gunther, St., obscurity of his early
life ; is admitted into the Beni-
dictine community of Altaich,
ii. 141. Becomes weary of the
monastic life, 14-2. He visits the
court of the king of Hungary,
143. Obtains his abbot's permis-
sion to embrace the conventual
life ; his retreat in the forest
discovered by duke Bretislas, 144.
His conversation with duke Bre-
tislas; his death ; miracles ascribed
to him, 146.

Gunther, count of Schwartzenburg,
i. 272. His death, 2J3.

Gustavus Adolphus invades Aus-
tria, Bohemia, and Bavaria, iii.
204.

Halitgar, an account of the Peni-
tentials drawn up by him, at the
request of the bishop of Rheims,
ii. 89.

Hanho, archbishop of Mentz, i. 142.

Hanseatic league, the famous, ori-
gin of, ii. 2. First established at
Brunswick, 3. Good effected by
the league ; laws and statutes for
its government, 4. Defeats and
compels Waldemar III. of Den-
mark to fly his kingdom ; he con-
cludes a peace with the confe-
deration ; the usurpations of, 5.
Other instances of their power,
and reasons for the same, 6. De-
cline and fall of, 13.

Hartman, count of Kyburg, i. 249.

Heinric I., surnamed the Fowler,
his character, i. 106. He conso-
lidates the Germanic empire, 107.
He humbles the Hungarians; he
improves the military system of
the country, and builds fortified
towns, i. 108. His death, 109.

Heinric II., duke of Bavaria, il-
legally elected emperor, i. 114.
Submits to receive the crown a
second time in a diet assembled
at Aix la Chapelle ; his excellent
character; his war with Boleslas
king of Poland, 115. Receives
the iron crown of Lombardy, 116.
Receives the imperial crown from
pope Benedict VIII. at Rome; his
piety and justice, 117.

Heinric II., St., his religious life;

his vision, ii. 157. Sanctity of his
life, 158.

Heinric III., reduces the Bohe-
mians, and establishes his superi-
ority over Hungary, i. 139. His
character and death, 140.

Heinric IV., i. 140. Dissatisfaction
of his subjects; is forced to dismiss
Adalbert archbishop of Bremen,

141. His unruly passions and
arbitrary conduct ; he is humbled
by the revolt of his subjects ; he
seeks to divorce his consort ; is ex.
communicated by pope Gregory
VII., and forced to do penance,

142. Is deposed by the princes of
the empire ; is again victorious ;
the sceptre again wrested from
his hands by his son ; returns to
Liege, where he died the year
after his deposition, 143. Re-
flections on his reign and cha-
racter, 144.

Heinric V., i. 148. Meditates open
violence against Rome; passes the
Alps at the head of a most for-
midable army ; hastens to Rome ;
before he arrives, he receives an
embassy from pope Pascal, 149.
Accepts the proposal of the pope,
150. His quarrel with the pope,
whom he makes prisoner, 151.
Is crowned by the pope, whom he
liberates, and returns triumphant
to Germany, 152. His death, 154.

Heinric VI., emperor of Germany,
his character, i. 194. His death,
195.

Heinric VII., emperor of Germany,
election of, i. 265. His compact
with the excluded princes of Aus-
tria, 26n. His death, 267.

Heinrich de Ranstein, a.', German
knight, his combat with Juan de
Merlo, a Spanish knight, ii. 16.

Henry the Turbulent usurps the
regency, and aspires to the crown
of Otho III., i. 113. Is compelled
to resign the regency, 114.

Henry the Proud, duke of Bavaria,
i. 155.

Henry of Luxemburg, i. 116.

Henry, duke of Brunswick, iii. 130.

Henry III. of England, i. 207.

Henry, duke of Brunswick, ex-
pelled from his states, iii. 132.

Henry VII. of England, ii. 12.

Henry V 1 1 1. complains to the Saxon
princes of the affront offered to
him by Luther, iii. 59.

Herman, duke of Swabia, i. 114.

Herman, archbishop of Cologne; is
excommunicated, iii. 135.

Hildegard, St., abbess of Mount St.
Rupert, absurd revelations and

Indulgences, sale of, the immediate
cause which led to the Reform.
ation, ii. 31 1. Sale of by Leo X.,
iii. 4 .

Innocent II., pope, i. 156.

Innocent IV., pope, i. 202.

Innocent X. annuls the treaty of
Westphalia, iii. £50.

Italian war, the varying successes
of the, ii. 287.

Ivan IV., tsar of Russia; Hor-
rible excesses committed at No-
vogrod by the Russians under
him, ii. 8. Immense plunder of
Novogrod, and quits the city, 11.

31 6 HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

prophecies ascribed to her, ii. 172.
Her zeal for religion, 173. Her
birth, 174. Her extraordinary
adventures, 175. Her death, 177.

Hildesheim, the bishop of, his
quarrel with the abbot of l-'ulda,
i. 179.

Hilversum, Henry, iii. 96.

Honorius III., pope, i. 197.

Horebites, cruelties practised by, ii.
255.

Hubertsburg, conferences at,iii. 256.

Hu8», John, the celebrated Bohe-
mian reformer, i. 281). His early
life, ii. 228. He investigates with
diligence the propositions of Wy-
cliffe, whose opinions he soon em-
braced, 229. His influence rapidly
increases ; installed as rector of
the university, 230. Continues to
preach with greater vehemence
against the pope and Antichrist ;
the churches shut against him
and his disciples, 231. Is cited to
appear before the pope; he dis-
obeys the mandate, and is excom-
municated, 232. Retires from
Prague, 233. Returns, and is
restored by the populace to his
chapel ; is joined by Jerome
of Prague in a disputation with
the doctors of the university, 234.
Disgraceful scenes attending those
proceedings, 235. His address to
the populace; receives a second
citation from the pope, which he
treats with contempt, 236. Com-
manded to appear before the
council of Constance, 237. Ar-
rives at Constance, and is placed
in confinement, in violation of the
imperial passport, 238. Prepar-
ations for his examination, 239.
Is brought before the council,
but refuses to submit, 240. Cha-
racter of the thirty-nine proposi-
tions extracted from his works,
241. Is brought for the last time
before the council, 242. His sen-
tence and degradation, 243. Re-
marks on the proceedings of the
council, 244. Condemned to be
burnt; his heroic conduct at the
stake, 246.

Hussites, and their descendants the
Methodists, ii. 231. Violence of,
after the execution of Huss, 249.
Increasing numbers of, 250. Their
irruptions into Hungary and
other countries ; their continued
successes, 259. Disputes between
them and the preachers of in-
dulgences, 235. Summoned to
appear before the council of Bale,

Jaromir, duke of Bohemia, i. 115.

Jerome of Prague joins Huss in a
disputation with the doctors of
the university against the sale of
indulgences, ii. 234. Summoned
to appear bt-lore the council of
Constance, 246. Is persuaded to
condemn the opinions of Wycliflfe
and Huss, hut is still detained in
prison, 247. Renounces his for-
mer recantation, and is con-
demned to death ; his heroism at
the stake, 248.

Jerome of Prague, i. 289.

Jesuits, appearance ofthe, iii. 184.

Jews, persecution of the, in Ger-
many, during the middle ages, ii.
39.

John XII., pope, i. 112.

John XXII., pope, i. 269.

John XXIII., pope, urges Wences-
las to extirpate the Hussite he-
resy, ii. 237.

John de Ragusa, procurator of the
Dominicans, ii. 260. His ha-
rangue on the sufficiency of the
wafer alone, in the sacrament of
the Lord's supper, 261.

John de Brienne, the expelled king
of Jerusalem, i. 198.

John Hunniades, chosen regent
during the minority of Ladislas,
king of Hungary, ii. 268. His
victory over the Turks ; his death,
269.

Joseph. I. succeeds Leopold I. ; suc-
cess 'of his foreign wars; his
death, ii. 243. Excellent, cha-
racter of, 244.

Joseph, son of the empress, elected
king of the Romans, and after-
wards becomes the acknowledged
head of the empire, iii. 236.

317

Joseph IT., his administration, iii.
262. His innovations upon the
i-hurch, 265.

Judith, the empress, allowed to
clear herself from the suspicion
of adultery by the ordeal of red-
hot plough-shares, i. 36.

Julian, cardinal, ii. 260.

Julius III., pope, iii. 141.

Jus Provinciate Suevicum, provi-
sions of this code, ii. 36.

Justification by faith, meaning as-
signed to, by Luther, iii. 19.

Kilian, St., an Irishman. His mis-
sionary labours and zeal for the
diffusion of the truth, ii. 50. As*
sassination of, 51.

Ladislas triumphantly escorted into
Hungary, and crowned in the
cathedral of Prague, ii. 269. His
unpopularity and death, 269.

Ladislas the Posthumous, king of
Hungary, ii. 267.

Lambert of SJchaffnabure, i. 146.
Anecdote from illustrations of
German manners, 175.

Leo III., pope, places the imperial
crown on the brows of Charle-
magne in 8dO, i. 32.

Leo X., apathy of, at the proceed-
ings of Luther, iii. 12. His public
sale of indulgences, 4. Con-
demns the writings of Luther, 35.
Sentences him to excommunic-
ation if he does not retract his
opinions within sixty days, 37.

Leopold, margrave of Austria,
i. 155.

Leopold of Austria, i. 2G9. His
death, 270.

Leopold I. succeeds Ferdinand III.,
iii. 230. His death, 23-'. Cha-
racter of his reign, 233.

Leopold of Tuscany, iii. 257.

Leopold II., successor to Joseph II.,
iii. 272.

Lex Angliorum et Werinorum,
origin and characteristics of, i.
78.

Lex Alamannica, the character of
this code, i. 8a.

Lex Frisica, character of this code,
i.,90.

Lex Salica, a code of law promul-
gated for the use of the Kalian
Franks ; its most prominent cha-
racter, i. 64.

Lex Saxonum, character of this
code, i. 85.

London, the second great empo-
rium of the Hanseatic league ;
government of, and privileges of
the body ; insurrections between
the inhabitants and the members
of the league, ii. 12.

Lother I. succeeds to the imperial
title, with no more than a third
of the empire, which he divides
between his two sons, i. 36.

Lother II. elected emperor, i. 155.
Procures the imperial crown from
the hands of Innocent II. ; his
transactions in Italy ; his hostili-
ties with the Norrnans, 156.

Louis le Debonnaire; his inglorious
reign, i. 35.

Louis le Begue, i. 3S.

Louis II. retains the whole of Ger-
many, with the provinces on the
left bank of the Rhine, i. 36.

Louis XII. of France, ii. 287.

Louis XIV., his wars, iii. 231.

Louis, king of Hungary, defeated
and slain by the Hungarians, iii.
114.

Luclger, St., his missionary labours
and death, ii. 61.

Ludmilla, St., murder of, ii. 132.

Ludolf, duke of Swauia, i. 122.

Ludoyic of Germany, i. 37.

Ludovic II. of Italy, i. 56.

Ludovic Moro, ii. 287.

Ludovic, son of Charlemagne,
successor, i. 35.

Ludovic III., Italy, i. 37.

Ludovic V., king of the Romans,
i. 268. His generous conduct to
his prisoner Frederic of Austria,
269. His open warfare with the
pope, 270. His mean submis-
sions and humiliating applications
for absolution, 271. His death,
272.

Ludovic, king of Hungary and
Bohemia, iii. 162.

Ludovic the Stern, i. 221.

Ludovic IV., son of Arnulf, elected
emperor, i. 42. His death and the
end of the Carlovingian line of
Germany, i. 43.

Ludovic of Thuringia, legend of,
ii. 194.

Lupfen, the inhabitants of throw
off their yoke, iii. 73.

Luther, Martin, his opinion of the
social state of Germany, ii. 21.
His birth and education, iii. 5.
Enters the cloister; is admitted
to holy orders, 6. Takes the de-
gree of doctor in theology ; his
indignation at the sale of indul-
gences, 7. His ninety-five pro-

S18

HISTORY OP THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

positions, 8. Attends the diet at
Augsburg, accompanied by Stau-
PUz and Lintz; declared a
heretic, and summoned by the
papal legate to appear before his
tnbunal at Augsburg, 12. His
disputation with Cajetan the
papal legate; he secretly leaves
Augsburg, 13. His letter to the
pope, 16. Appears at Leipsic to
defend his disciple Carlstadt, 18.
His disputation with Eckius, 27,
His inconsistency; his Com.
mentary on St. Paul's Epistle to
the -Galatians, 30. Addresses a
letter to Charles V., a<3. Is per-
suaded to write a letter of sub.
mission to the pope, 34. His
writings condemned by the pope,
55. Sentenced to excommunica-
tion if he does not retract his
opinions within sixty days, 37.
His intemperance towards the
holy see, 38. Leaves Wittemberg
for Worms under the protection
of the emperor and other princes,
45. Is denounced by the em-
peror; leaves Worms with a
guarantee of security, and is
seized by a party of horsemen
and conveyed to the castle of
Wartberg, 48. His intemperance
increases with his confinement;
his treatise against auricular
confession, 50. Privately leaves
the castle of Wartburg, and pro-
ceeds to Wittemberg ; his letter
to Frederic, 53. His hostility
towards Carlstadt, 5ft His often-
give conduct to Henry VIII.;
his work against the order of
bishops, 58. Completes a trans-
lation of the Scriptures, 59. This
work is pronounced inaccurate
by Emser, a doctor of Leipsic, 60.
His treatise on the secular power,
61. His meeting with Cellarius
and Stubner, two anabaptists, 71.
His apology to George duke of
Saxony; his marriage with
Catherine Boren, a nun, 107.
His mortification at seeing his
empire usurped by the Zwin-
glians, 115. Agrees to a confer-
ence at Marburg with Zwingle,
117. Death of; his character,
147. His scurrility towards his
enemies, 148.

Lutherans, their union with the
Sacramentarians, iii. 129.

'M.

Mabillon, the great historian of the
Benedictine order, ii. 56.

Magnum Chronicum Belgicum, ii
179. Extracts from ths book, 180.

Magdeburg, siege of, iii. HI.

Manegold, count, i. 174.

Mansfcld, count of, iii. 75.

Marquerd, bishop of Hildeshein:
killed in Ebbecksdorf, ii. 71.

Maria of Austria, iii. 162.

Marlborough, iii. 243.

Martin, St., of Tours, ii. 84.

Mary of Burgundy, her marriage
with Maximilian" I., ii. 278.

Matilda, the countess, i. 171.

Matilda, St., ii. 160.

Matthias, John, iii. 81.

Matthias of Hungary ; his death,
ii. 277.

Matthias Corvinus, elected king of
Hungary, ii. 270.

Matthias, appointed governor of
Austria and Hungary ; rebels
against Rodolf II., ii. 195. Is
crowned at Prague, 1°G. Suc-
ceeds Rodolf, 196. His death,
198.

Maurice concludes an alliance with
France against the emperor, iii.
141. Death of, 144.

Maurice, duke of Saxony, iii. 136

Maximilian I., elected king of the
Romans, ii. 277. His marriage
with Mary of Burgundy, 278. His
accession to the imperial crown,

284. His relations with France,

285. His transactions with other
foreign powers, 286. Internal
transactions of his reign ; entire
abolition of the right of diffida-
tion, 288. Remodifies the court
of " the imperial chamber," in-
stituted by Sigismund, 290. Lays
the foundation of the celebrated
Aulic council, 296. His reign the
most important era in the history
of thepublic law of Germany, 300.
His efforts to reform the admini-
stration of justice, 305. Improve-
ment of the nation during his
reign, 306. Measures taken by
him for the aggrandisement of
his family, 307.

Maximilian, son of Ferdinand,
elected king of the Romans, iii.
167. Succeeds his father Ferdi-
nand ; he persuades the Catholics
and Lutherans to refrain from
open hostility, 185. Death and
character of. 188.

Maximilian, Joseph, elector pala-
tine"; his death, iii. 257.

Mecklenburg Schwerin, duke of,
iii. 258.

Meinhard, count, chosen regent of
Hungary, during the minority of
Ladislas, ii. 268.

INDEX. 319

Meinhard, count of the Tyrol, i. 255.

Melancthon, iii. 52.

Melchior, bishop of Wurtzburg, as-
sassination of, iii. 187.

Mentz, the archbishop of, convokes
a diet for the election of an em-
peror, i. 136.

Mentz, archbishop of, iii. 126

Metellus, a monk of Tergensen, ii.
207. Extracts from his poetical
works, 208.

Micislas, duke of Poland, i. 114.

Miltitz, despatched as nuncio to
Frederick III., ii. 16.

Mohammed II., ii. 269.

Mohatz, battle of, iii. 162.

Mulhausen, iii. 71.

Munster, violent conduct of the
anabaptists at, iii. 82. Siege of,
85. Famishing state of the in.
habitants, 102. Capture of, 103.
Treaty of, 208.

Muntzer, iii. 69. Influence of, at
Mulhausen, where he fixes his
quarters, 71. His letter to the
miners of Mansfeld, 72. Defeat
and death of, 77.

Mustapha, Kara, iii. 232.

Nicolas de Hussinatz, proprietor of
the birth-place of Huss, ii. 250.

Nimeguen, treaty of, iii. 232.

Nordlengen, battle of, iii. 204.

Novatian, ii. 314.

Novogrod, the most celebrated
emporium in Europe, for the
traffic of the Hanseatic league,
ii. 7. Decline and ruin of this
city, 8.

Nuremberg, discontent of the peo-
ple, iii. 71. Peace of, 126. Vio-
lation of the peace of, 129.

Odilo, the duke of, i. 12.

Odin, his character as a legislator,
i. 89.

CEcolampadius, his treatise, iii. 64.
His death, 125.

Osnaburg, treaty of, iii. 208.

Otger, archbishop of Mentz, ii. 106.

Otho, duke of Saxony, i. 103.
Elected emperor, he declines the
• dignity in favour of Conrad, duke
of Flanders, i. 104.

Otho 1., elected emperor, i. 109.
Disputes between different bi-
shops respecting the right of con-
secrating him, 1)0. His eventful
r ign, 111. He obtains the impe-

rial crown from pope John XII. ;
procures the coronation of his
son as his imperial successor; his
character and death, 112.

Otho II., his short and troubled
reign, i. 112. His death, 113.

Otho III., a minor, i. 1!3. Medi-
tates the subjugation of Italy •
his death, 114.

Otho IV., emperor of Germany,
i. 195. His marriage with Bea-
trice, daughter of Philip; he
marches on Rome, and com.
mands the pope to annul the ce-
lebrated concordat of 1122, 196.
Is deposed, and Frederic of Sicily
solemnly proclaimed, 197.

Otho,ofWittelspech, count palatine
of Bavaria ; assassinates the em-
peror Philip, i. 195. Placed under
the ban of the empire, and con-
demned fo death, 196.

Ottocar, king of Bohemia, i. 254. Is
defeated, and slain in battle by
Rodolf I., 255.

Papal power, decline of, iii. 167.

Pascal, pope, his declaration against
investiture, i. 148. Taken pri-
soner by Heinric V., 151. Is
liberated, on his swearing not to
excommunicate the emperor, 152
His death, 153.

Paschasius Radbertus, ii. 102.

Passau, treaty of, iii. 143.

Paul III., pope, iii. 131.

Paul IV., pope, iii. 166.

Paul V., iii. 186.

Pavia, defeat of Francis at, iii. 1 13.

Pepin, mayor of the palace to Sige-
bert II., i. 9. Mayor of the palace
in the reign of Dagobert II. ; his
victories, 10.

Pepin, son of Charles Martel, raised
to the throne with the consent of
the pope, and solemnly crowned
amidst the unbounded acclama-
tions of the people; his authority
circumscribed, i. 13. Triumphs
over the hostile Frisians and
Saxons ; forces the king of Lom-
bardy to restore the exarchate of
Ravenna to pope Stephen ; leaves
his two sons, Charles and Carlo-
man, joint heirs of his states, 24.

Peter III., tzar of Russia, depo-
sition of, iii. 256.

Pfeiffer, iii. 75.

Philip V., iii. 243. Acknowledged
by Charles VI. as lawful monarch
of Spain, iii. 247.

Philip, landgrave of Hesse, iii. 113. ;

320

HISTORY OP THE GERHfANIC EMPIRE.

Philip, duke of Swabia, elected em-
peror ; is assassinated by Otho of
Wittelspach, i. 195.

Philip t., of France, i. 177.

Philip, king of France, i. 265.

Pisa, the council of, dissolved, after
ending the schism, ii. 228.

Pius IV., pope, iii. 166.

Podiebrad, regency of, during the
reign of Ladislas, king of Hun.
gary, ii. 2f>8. Raised to the throne
of Bohemia by the Hussites, 270.
His death, 278.

Poggio Bracciolini, ii. 17.

Prague, treaty of, iii: 205.

Premislas, king of Bohemia, ii. 151.

Prierias, iii 11.

Procopius, St., ii. 148.

Procopius Raso, a Hussite leader,
ii. 2o8. Slain in action at the
recovery of Prague, 262.

Protestants, origin. of, iii. 116.

Ptarsko, regent in Hungary during
• the minority of Ladislas, iii. 268.

Radbod, duke of Frisia, i. 10.

Radbod, archbishopof Treves, ii. 22.

Ratgar, abbot of Fulda, ii. 103.

Ratisbon, diet of, iii. 131.

Ratram, of Corbey, ii. 102.
.Raynaldo, duke of Spoleto, i. 200.

Kaymundo de Penaforte, employed
by Gregory IX. to amplify the
collections of codes of the cele-
brated Gratian, ii. 23.

Reformation, commencement of
the, iii. 5. Advancement of the,
62. Character of the, 153.

Regnier, duke of Lorraine, i. 103.

Repkovius, the compiler of the
code Speculum Saxonicum, ii. 24.
Remarks on this code, 25.

Rhabanus Maurus, an account of
the penitential of, ii. 94. His
education, 103. His verses to the
abbot of Fulda, in which he
humbly requests the restoration
of his writings, 104. Elected ab-
bot of Fulda ; his writings, 105.
Resigns his dignity ; is chosen
archbishop of Mentz, 106. His
letter to count Egenhard, relative
to the impostor Gottschalk, 108.
His death and character, 109.
Rhegino, the historian, his work,
entitled De Disciplina Ecclesi-
astica, ii. 22.

Robert, count palatine, elected em-
peror of Germany ; his unfor-
tunate administration in Italy and
Germany, i. 287. His death, 288.
Richard of Cornwall, elected em-
peror, i. 207. His death, 208.

Robert, count cf Flanders, i. 176.
Rodolf I., emperor of Germany,
i. 147. Count of Hapsburg]
elected pmperor; his early ex-
ploits, 249. Crowned king of the
Romans two years after the death
of Richard, 251. His sincere con-
duct in regard to the popes, 252.
His victory over the Bohemian
king, whom he compels to sur-
render Austria and its dependent
provinces, 255. Internal admi-
nistration of, 256. His death and
character ; anecdotes of, 257.
Roriolf II., succeeds Maximilian

iii. 189. His death, 196.
Roger of Sicily, i. 189.

Rokyczana, his ai,swer to the ha-
rangue of John de Ragusa, on
the sufficiency of the water alone
in the sacrament of the Lord's
supper, ii 261.

Rosnata, St., a member of the
sovereign family of Bohemia; he
devotes himself to a religious life,
and vows a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land ; his reasons for so
doing, ii. 148. Is released from
his vow by the pope; assumes
holy orders, and becomes prior
of Toplitz, 149. Is seized by ban-
ditti ; his treatment while under
confinement; his miraculous ap-
pearance to his domestics, 150.
His death, 151.

Roswitha, a nun of Gandersheim ;
extracts from her prose works, ii.
197. Extracts from her poetical
works, 205.

Rudolf, duke of Swabia, elected
emperor by German princes ; is
defeated by Heinric, and slain, i.
143.

Rudolph, bishop of Wurtzburg, i. 61.

Rupert, St., the apostle of Bavaria ;
disputes respecting the age in
which he lived ; his successful
missionary labours, ii. 45.

Ryswick, treaty of, iii. 232.

Sacramentarians, their union with

the Lutherans, iii. 119.
Saint Wenceslas, i. 111.
Salvian of Marseilles, i. 68.
Sardinia, king of, on the death of

Charles VI., claims the ducby of

Milan, iii. 251.

Saxons, the situations of, i. 3.
Saxony, elector of; his death, iii. KM.
Schiller, i. 75.
Sclavonic tribes and their situations,

i. 4.
Selim succeeds Solyman, iii. 187.

Concludes a truce with the em-
peror, 188.
Sigismund, John, iii. 164. Death of,

1QQ

Sigebert II., i. 8.

Sigismund, king of Hungary, il-
legally elected emperor of Ger-
many ; his foreign transactions,
i. 289. Crooned emperor by
pope Eugenius IV., his internal
policy, 290. His intolerance in
regard to the reformers, 291. His
character, 294.

Sigismond II., emperor, arrives at
Prague; Zisca,the Hussite leader,
refuses to acknowledgd him, ii.
252. Assembles an immense
army, and is signally defeated ;
negotiates a truce with the Has-
sites,' and concedes four of their
chief demands, 253. His war
whh the Turks, 257. Negotiates
with Zisca, 258. Convokes the
council of Bale; the dissidents
cite! to appear before it; pro-
ceedings of both parties, 260.
Renews his negotiations with the
Hussites, 262. His duplicity;; his
public entry into Prague; his
death, 263.

Silverl;ausen, battle of, iii. 144.

Smalcald, league of, iii. 124.

Sobieski, his successes against the
Turks, iii. 232.

Solyman, iii. 162.

-Sophia, queen of Bohemia, ii. 229.

Spires, diet of, iii. 132.

Staupitz, of Augsburg, iii. 12.

Stanislas Leczinski, iii. 248.

Stephen'III., pope, i. 24.

Stork, Nicholas, iii. 67.

Stabner.'iii. 71.

Student of Toledo, the legend of
she, ii. 191.

Sturm, saint, ii. 59.

Sweno, king of Denmark, his hos-
tility to the Christian religion,
i. 113.

Swentibold, Slavonic king of Mo-
ravia, attaches himself to the in-
terests of Arnulf, king of Ger-
many, i. 39. Revolts ; is compelled
to own himself a vassal of the
empire, i. 40.

Syagrius, the Roman governor of
Gaul, i. 5.

Symeon, saint, his birth and
education, ii. 160. Anecdote of,
161. His adventures, 162. His
death ; miracles reported to have
been wrought at his tomb, 164.

Taborites, the, ii. 254.
VOL. III.

3x, 321

Tacitus, i. 17.

Tassilo, duke of Bavaria, i. 29.

Tetzel, a Dominican friar, employ-
ed by Albert, archbishop of Mag-
deburg, in the sale of indulg-
ences, iii. 5. Condemns to the
flames the propositions of Luther,
10.

Theodoric, bishop of Munden,
killed in the battle of Ebbecks-
dorf, ii. 71.

Theodoric, archbishop of Cologne ;
his martial character, ii. 218.

Theophania, o,ueen of Otho, i. 113.

Theresa Maria takes possession of
her inheritance; is opposed by
the elector of Bavaria and other
princes; defeats her enemy, iii.

251. Her treaty with the Prussian
monarch ; success of her arms,

252. Opens secret negotiations
with Frederic, which end in
peace being restored ; death of,
259.

Thesselgart the Lion, a famous

freebooter, i. 174.
Thierry, sovereign of Austrasia,

extent of his dominions, i. 7.
Thierry, son of Clovis, his laws, i.

82.

Thierry IV., 1 10.
Thuringians, the, composed of

several tribes belonging to the

great Tuetonic family; their

situations, i. 4.
Timur, ii. 265.
Tories, accession of in England, iii.

245.

Traditiones Fuldenses, the, i. 51.
Trent, council of, iii. 183.

Udalric, duke of Bohemia, i. 137.
Uladislas, king pf Poland, assumes

the title of king of Hungary, ii.

267. Slain on the field of Varna,

while manfully resisting the

Turks, 268.
Ulric, St., bishop of Augsburg,

his 2eal for religion and useful

studies, ii. 153. His austerities ;

his martial defence of Augsburg ;

his death, 154.

Ulric, duke of Wurtemberg, ii. 306.
Uta, daughter of duke Theodo,

ii. 44.
Utrecht, peace of, iii. 245.

Vandals, the situations of, i. 3.
Vladimir, duke of Bohemia, i. 115.

322

HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.

Walafrid Strabo, his birth and
education, ii. 109. His character
as a poet, 110. Extracts from his
poetical works, 116.

Waldcmar, king of Denmark,
i. 197.

Waldemar III. of Denmark de-

. feated, and compelled to fly from

his kingdom, ii. 5. Concludes a

peace with the confederation of

the Hanseatic league, 6.

Waldo, count, i. 136.

Waldstein is assassinated, iii. 704.

Wandtscherers, Elizabeth, iii. 91.

Wart burg, castle of, Luther con.
reyed thither by his partisans,
iii. 49.

Wenceslas, duke of Bohemia; his
character, ii. 132. Is murdered
by his brother Boleslas, 134.

Wenceslas IV., king of Bohemia,
i. 255. His death, 261.

Wenceslas V., king of Bohemia,
i. 262. Succeeds to the Germanic
throne, 279. His indifference to
the affairs of the kingdom ; his
unfeeling conduct to his queen,
280. His imprisonment and es-
cape, 281. Is retaken, and con-
signed to the citadel of Prague ;
is transferred to a prison in
Austria, and is soon enlarged,
282. Selfs the bailliage over Up-
per and Lower Swabia to Leo-
pold of Austria, 284. He forms
a confederation to restore the
public peace, 285. Deposition of,
286.

Werner, archbishop of Mentz, i.

250.
Westphalia, peace of, iii. 208.

Wettin, a monk of Augise, ii. 110.

Visions of, 111. His death, 115.

Whigs, fall of, in England, iii. 245.

Wiborada, St, il. 153.

Wilfred, St., his successful mis.
sionary labours in the north of
Germany, ii. 48.

Wilhelm, St., abbot of Hirsangen,
ii. 164. Anecdotes respecting
him, 165.

Willahad, St., a Northumbrian

priest, ii. 59. Success of his
preaching in East Frisia and
Saxony ; his death, 60.

William, count of Holland, i. 203.
Elected emperor, his troubled
reign, he falls by the hands of
the West Friesland rebels, 206.

Willibald, St, ii. 58. The chief
apostle of the Frisians, ii. 48.
His zeal, courage, and persever-
ance in the diffusion of the
Gospel, 49. His death, 50.

Winsberg, the battle of, i. 188.

Witikind, the Saxon chief, i. 28.
Compelled by Charlemagne to
submit to baptism, 29. His ac.
count of the hardihood and the
independence of the Slavonians,
100. Conversion of, ii. 60.

Wittemberg, duke of, iii. 129.

Wolfgang, prince of Anhalt, iii. 117.

Wolfgang, St., his assiduity to his
studies, ii. 154. Embraces holy
orders, and accepts the office of
deacon, 155. His piety and learn,
ing ; is elected to the see of Ra-
tisbon, 156. His character ; anec-
dote of, 157.

Wolmar, Melchlor, iii. 170.

Worms, the diet of, i. 136. Con-
ference at, iii. 131.

Wratislas, duke of Bohemia, a. 132.

Wulfran, St ; his missionary la-
bours ; his death, ii. 50.

Wunibald, St., ii. 58.

Wycliffe, his writings, ii, 228. His
books condemned to be burned,
230.

Zacharias, pope, i. 12.

Ziska, a leader of the Hussites,
violence of, ii. 251. Refuses to
acknowledge Sigismund, 252.
Pursues his depredatioBS unmo-
lested, 257. His death, 158.

Zurich, religious confererice at, iii.
64. The reformed'TfelJgion in-
troduced into, 65. 9 '

Zwingle, pastor oUZurich, a rirat
of Luther in thebTIefonnation, iii.
63. Agree*jtof» conference a*
Marburg *t* Ifcther, 1 17. Fal U
in battUL 121.

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